


Lady Luck Can Be Quite The Bitch

by DarkMurcielago



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-10-09
Updated: 2015-06-11
Packaged: 2018-02-20 13:20:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 21,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2430293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkMurcielago/pseuds/DarkMurcielago
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lester Wilson has always thought that his luck was superior, going so far as to call himself 'The World's Luckster'. But when his luck goes haywire when he is chosen for a foreign exchange program at Karasuno High-school, he decides to do some thinking. Be it dealing with arrogant giants or overly cheerful shorties, he can tell this is a year to remember!</p>
<p>OCx?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Luck is not something that can be earned.

Each person is born with a certain amount of luck that lasts till the day they die, and this is the inevitable truth. Some have almost none, and suffer misfortunes on a daily basis; ranging from mere falls on the streets to getting chased by a pack of wolves in the middle of nowhere. Others, however, have extreme luck that allows them to excel in almost every imaginable field. What they lack in skill and talent is easily and ultimately made up for by their supreme luck. 

Lester just so happens to be one of the supremely lucky ones, calling himself 'The World's Luckster'. Ever since he can remember, he has had nothing but strokes of good luck, be it at something measly as mysteriously getting 2 cans of soda from a vending machine, to getting picked at random out of thousands of other students to be part of a foreign exchange program.

So there he was, listening to 'Henai no Rondo' while riding the train bound for Miyagi, where he would start attending his new school, Karasuno High. Deciding it was better to refresh his Japanese rather than waste time enjoying the scenery, he lazily pulled out his dictionary and began revising. He ran his hand through his rather messy strawberry-blond hair and sighed.

_'We will now be making a brief stop at the Miyagi Prefecture. Please make sure to take all of your belongings with you.'_

He was so lost in thought that he almost missed his stop, so grabbing his duffel bag from above him he left the train and headed towards the stations exit. As he stood in line, he could see that people were eyeing him. Who could blame them? He stood out beyond comprehension. Not only was he taller than nearly half of the other passengers, his strawberry-blond hair was unique seeing as how he dyed a couple of strands electric blue. His face was the only thing that didn’t stand out, having typical blue eyes and a small nose. His white shirt, coupled with his monochromatic pants and red sneakers, made him look like a panda with blond hair.

He took out the note that had his host's address, a man by the name of Ishiyama Daisuke.

It made him wonder why a single man in his early 20s would even volunteer for the program, but Lester thought the guy most likely wanted to see what's it like to have a teenager live with you in preparations for when the guy decides to have kids. Well either way, the guy sounded nice enough when Lester spoke with him to confirm his arrival date.

After about an hour of walking aimlessly, he finally reached the Ishiyama residence. It was a modest 2 story building with a midsized lawn. He went into his habit of imagining scenarios of how his meeting with the man would turn out, coming with at least 500 ways how the conversation would progress. Before he could continue, he was startled when the door suddenly opened and he was greeted by who he assumed was Ishiyama.

The guy looked completely different from what Jack had pictured him to be. Ishiyama stood slightly shorter than Lester did and had chocolate brown hair with an unusual spiky hairdo. But what really caught his attention was his face… Ishiyama had the eyes of someone ready to attack if somebody so much as looked at him wrong. He had one of those delinquent faces that make most people wanna run in terror, and Lester had to admit, he was starting to get intimidated. The guy seemed to have been napping for quite some time, as he stood there with rubbing his eyes and kept on yawning.

Snapped from his thoughts, Lester greeted the man: "Good Afternoon, are you Ishiyama-san? My name is Le- wait no that's Wilson Lester here…"

Nodding, Ishiyama had a thinking look on his face, trying to figure out why some foreigner would be standing at his front door…

"I am the foreign exchange student you agreed to host for a year…" Lester said, hoping he wouldn’t have to explain about the program.

Suddenly, realization seemed to hit him, as he started laughing and said: "Oh yeah I do remember agreeing to something like that… Why didn’t you just say so from the beginning?" and he started going inside, leaving Lester dumbstruck. Then when he realized Lester was still outside, he turned and said: "Well are you coming in or what?"

"Oh right! Sorry…"

Lester proceeded to take off his shoes per Japanese tradition and began analyzing the interior of the house. It was just as moderate as it looked on the outside. The ground floor consisted mainly of a kitchen, a living room, and a bathroom, while the top floor had a master bedroom and 2 rooms he assumed were guest rooms. All in all, it was a cozy home suited for just about anyone.

Ishiyama told him that he could have his pick with one of the guest rooms as they were both identically furnished. Both had a small closet on one side, facing the comfy looking bed on the other, and standing right under the window was a medium sized desk with a built in book case. He picked the room with the view of the front lawn, for no particular reason.

Lester proceeded to organize his unusually small amount of stuff he brought from home. He figured that if he ever needed anything extra, he could always buy it. After all, the program provides him with a monthly allowance for personal use, while his host is tasked with taking full responsibility of his expenses.

"So, what do you think?" said a voice from behind him, causing him to turn around, only to find Ishiyama leaning on the doorframe with a smirk on his face.

Lester smiled momentarily and said with both gratitude and a small hint of guilt: "It's lovely! I hope it didn’t cost you very much to prepare both rooms…"

Of course, Ishiyama burst out laughing like a maniac and said: "Nah don’t worry kiddo, the rooms were already furnished when I got this house, so it's no big deal."

Having discarded his temporary guilt, Lester grinned and then… silence…

He could feel some slight awkwardness building in the room, so he tried to break the ice by asking a somewhat harmless, but curious question: "So umm… what made you decide to volunteer for the program, Ishiyama-san? I don’t think it's something you'd do just for the heck of it…"

"Ok first off, I'm only 22 so can you not call me by my last name? My father is Ishiyama-san; my name is Daisuke, so call me that along with your choice of honorific. After all, you're stuck with me for the next year aren’t you? And to answer your question, I kinda got tired of living on my own, so I saw it as a chance to get a roommate "he said, with his smirk back on.

Lester gave him his best poker face and said: "Have you tried getting roommates who are closer to your age? I think having a teenager live with you doesn’t count, Daisuke-san."

Daisuke snorted, as if offended and pointed to his face like it was some abomination. "Have you seen what my face looks like? I tried a shitload of times to get one, but they end up running away the second they see me, and for no good reason too. I figured if I volunteered, whoever got picked would have to live here." He said, ending it with a sheepish grin.

Sighing, Lester shook his head and said: "Whatever floats your boat I suppose…"

Daisuke then said: "Anyways, I agreed to be host, but I'm not your father, so you're free to do what you wish. Just don’t get yourself in trouble; I don’t want to have to bust your ass outta jail or something. If you're planning to go out, there's an extra key hanging in the kitchen." and with that, Daisuke retreated back to his room, leaving a pensive Lester behind.

**_'I should at least figure out where my new school is…"_ **

With that thought in mind, Lester proceeded to leave the house and try to look for Karasuno High. He took some time to familiarize himself with this town, seeing as he was going to spend the next year here. Nothing really wowed him in all honesty; the place looked just like those neighborhoods in anime, with narrow streets and lots of greenery. Still, he supposed that normalcy was the town's charm.

All he could think of was what was waiting for him at his new school. Will he be able to fit in? Would he be able to pass his classes even if they were in a different language? What kind of school would it turn out to be? You know, typical 'New Student Thoughts' and whatnot.

He was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice he bumped into what he first thought was a telephone pole, the impact shaking him up and bringing him back to reality. He took a look at what he had bumped into and was slightly shocked when he saw that it wasn’t a telephone pole, but rather an incredibly tall guy. Lester used to think he was unusually tall with his 178 cm height, but this guy was even taller. He had short blond hair and had a somewhat irritated look on his face.

"Sorry! I didn’t see you there!" said Lester while bowing apologetically.

"Tch! Watch where you're going, or are you so blind you can't see what's in front of you?' the guy almost **_spat_** the words as he angrily and purposely bumped into Lester with his shoulder and walked away.

Lester seriously considered throwing something at the obnoxious giant and yell at him, but he knew that he wouldn’t stand a chance against him if a fight were to break, so he decided to swallow his pride and attribute the guy's actions to the fact that it was probably that time of the month and that he had no control over his emotions… or so he comforts himself…

After having finally found the school, and almost getting rammed by some hyperactive carrot haired kid, he decided to stop by a local convince store and buy some of his favorite drugs: Strawberry Ice Cream and a pack of watermelon gummy bears. The first thing the clerk told him as soon as he entered was **_"Don’t cause a ruckus!"_** while reading something Lester couldn’t really comprehend. After finding what he needed, he went to the clerk to pay for what he got, earning him a questioning look about his snacks of choice.

Lester handed him the money, while shyly whispering **_"Don’t judge me…"_** and then exited the store. He took a peak at his phone and saw that it took him quite a while to find the school, with his clock reading **_'19:54'_**

**_'Crap! That took longer than expected…'_ **

He thought while munching on his snack as he attempted to remember the way home. The fact that he his sense of direction was worse than a baby's didn’t help one bit, and his luck was useless when it came to his flaws. It's times like these that Lester questions the reliability of said luck.

An hour and half later, and after asking for directions about 7 times, he finally found the Ishiyama residence. He let out a sigh of relief, and proceeded inside the house. Daisuke seemed to have left the house, and it was later confirmed when Lester found a note in the kitchen that said:

_'Gonna be out for a while. Don’t wait for me if you're gonna have dinner._

_-Ishiyama Daisuke'_

For a split second, Lester was about to start an internal debate over where Daisuke could have gone to, but luckily he managed to restrain himself just in time. He knew that once he gets deep in thought, he could stay like that for hours, and he would be completely unaware of his surroundings. So he went and took a long a bath and decided to hit the hay. After all school started tomorrow and he didn’t want to be late for his first day.

With that in mind, Lester Wilson went into his first slumber in Japan.


	2. Welcome to Karasuno!

Lester was rudely awakened by his overly loud alarm followed by the overly loud yells of his host, telling him to quiet the alarm down. He slammed his alarm, probably harder than needed and remained in his bed a little while longer. He picked up his phonefrom the ground and began scrolling through his Instagram account; liking any pictures that involved food and then began checking any messages he may have received. Most were from his sister, asking if his trip ended up ok and whether or not he could give her some 'Juicy Facts' about his host. When his clock hit 7:30, he deemed it was time to get going.

After a quick shower, and an even quicker breakfast, Lester began preparing his school crap. It was the first day of the year, so he figured it was probably reserved for introductions like back home.Still, it wasn’t a good first impression to be late on the very first day, so he went ahead and left the house.

As he reached the school gates, he could see people hovering around the class rosters. Some were expressing their joy for being in the same class as their friends, while others were bummed by the opposite. Lester couldn’t care less which class he ended up in since he literally spoke to just 3 people since he came here: Daisuke, the store clerk, and the obnoxious Telephone Pole.

Speaking of whom, Lester glanced sideways and saw the same person he bumped into yesterday talking to some black haired guy who was visibly shorter than he was.  Telephone Pole-san was quite irritated while who Lester assumed to be his friend tried to calm him down.

Lester decided it was pointless to understand that guy, so he simply began looking for his name. It didn’t really take very long, as his name stood out the most. Apparently, they write foreigner names quite differently here than native names.

**_ Class 1-4 _ **

**_Kirishima Mahiru_ **

**_Yamaguchi Tadashi_ **

**_Nezumi Makoto_ **

**_Urabe Hidehiko_ **

**_Tsukishima Kei_ **

**_Sakamoto Hiyori_ **

**_Yamamoto Shizune_ **

**_Lester Wilson_ **

**_And so on, so forth…_ **

He had to admit, it felt kinda awkward standing there. He could feel his future classmates' stares on him and it made him quite uncomfortable. So he decided to just walk past them and head over to his class.

**_'Class 1-4, where art thou?'_** thought Lester, as he entered the building. He had to admit, the schools here look just like the ones in anime. So, as his years with anime taught him, he located his shoe locker and switched his shoes. While searching for his classroom, Lester began his mental scenario game. He had to be prepared, right? He wondered what kind of introduction this school normally has. Was it the one where they each stand and write their name on the board, or was it one where they simply respond when the teacher called their name? So many questions, but not enough time to answer them.

When he finally reached the classroom, he picked the seat at back right next to the window. However, his nervousness began to take over. He needed food and he needed it now. Being the nervous eater that he was, he had come prepared. So he opened his bag and took out the gummies he bought yesterday, and began munching on them until his nervousness dissipated. While he was busy calming his nerves, an unexpected event occurred. Telephone Pole-san and his friend entered the classroom and, much to Lester's dismay took the two seats in front of him. For a brief moment, their eyes locked. Blue eyes scrutinizing brown eyes, while brown eyes glared mockingly at said blue eyes. His friend seemed to notice the growing static electricity between them, so he tried to calm things down.

"H-hey Tsukki! It's rude to stare like that!" he said, hesitantly.

Telephone Pole-san directed his venomous glare towards his friend, and while muttering something along the lines of 'Shut Up', he sat back down, still irritated. Lester came to the conclusion that no matter what happens, that guy will always be pissed as hell, and his shy friend will always try to calm him down. Oh how he cursed his luck right now, something he has never done before. Lester's luck has always managed to somehow bend the world's events to his liking. However, ever since he stepped foot in this place, his luck's capabilities have been somewhat reduced. He thought that it would at least kick in and NOT put him in the same class as Grumpy McBitch Pants. But then again, just as much as it was helpful, Luck was an incredibly unpredictable thing.

While he continued to sort out his thoughts, the rest of his class came in and everyone took his or her desired seat. Shortly after that, a young woman who couldn't have been older than 24 entered the classroom.

"Good Morning everyone! My name is Mochizuki Ayane and I'm going to be your homeroom teacher for this semester!" she said, with an overly cheerful and slightly annoying tone. The class then gave her signs of acknowledgement, and she then took it as a sign to continue: "I haven’t been a teacher for very long, so I'm not very good at this yet. I guess we should start with introductions. I will now start from the front all the way to the back. I want you to stand up, introduce yourself, and then tell us a little bit about yourself. Not too many details, just small things like your likes and dislikes. So beginning with the lady in front, let us begin."

One by one, the students began introducing themselves. Lester only got their names, as they spoke a little too fast for him to understand. The only ones he put a bit more effort to understand were Grumpy McBitch and his friend.

"Um… My name is Yamaguchi Tadashi. It's nice to meet you all. There aren’t many things I dislike to be honest, and my likes mainly involve things that are fun I suppose…" said Grumpy's friend quite shyly. Perhaps he has trouble speaking in public or something.

Next was Grumpy himself. "My name is Tsukishima Kei. I like music I suppose, and what I really dislike are overly energetic people."  He said quickly and sat down even quicker. Lester stored the new info and stood up, as it was his turn. Just like he was staring at Grumpy during his introduction, Tsukishima subtly turned and stared at Lester.

"My name is Lester Wilson, but I guess here it would be Wilson Lester. I came here from the U.S because I was chosen for a foreign exchange program. I'm quite fond of music, and food is the love of my life. I absolutely hate obnoxious brats who think they rule the world, and I most definitely cannot stand loud, whiny, and disrespectful children. That is all" said Lester, mainly directing that last part at Tsukishima, who responded with an intensified glare.

The class broke into a load 'WOAH', as if they've never seen a foreigner before. It seemed his classmates were easily impressed by the most trivial of things.

"Well then" began Ayane "It looks as though we have a foreigner with us, class. Make sure to give him a proper welcome." Then she started organizing her papers and finally she declared that since it is still the first day, they could have the rest of the period free, and that normal classes begin tomorrow. It turned out just as Lester suspected.

However, before he could sort out his thoughts, he was bombarded with his fellow classmates and their curiosity. They asked him questions ranging from normal ones like 'What's it like in the US?' to somewhat random and completely strange ones like 'How's the weather there?' Lester tried to answer their questions to the best of his abilities, but when they wouldn’t let up he simply gave up, and asked them politely to let him have a break and leave him alone. Though most were disappointed, they returned to their seats and began chatting amongst themselves, leaving Lester by himself. Which was fine by him, silence is golden after all.

Lester spent the rest of his day toggling between paying attention to the teachers' preaching, taking minor naps, and gazing out the window. During which he overheard his classmates talking about how most clubs will begin accepting new members starting today. Lester found it a bit strange, considering how it is still the very first day of the year.

**_'After all, the second and third years would have probably already joined their preferred clubs, so that only leaves us first years. But we just got here! How are we supposed to know which clubs are available and all that crap? Shouldn't they at least have some sort of convention where all the clubs present themselves to the first years and try to persuade them to join or something?'_ **

**_*DING-DONG BING-BONG*_ **

Lester's thoughts were interrupted by the bell signaling the end of the day. He had to admit, today was pretty uneventful to say the least. All he really did was go into a Glare-Off with who he now knows as Tsukishima Kei. So, as to not have his very first day turn into a bore, he decided to pay a visit to the faculty office and ask them about the clubs. From what he researched, every club must have a teacher serve as the clubs faculty advisor.

And so, that is how Lester found himself standing in front of the Faculty Office door. He hesitantly opened the door and was greeted with a most peculiar sight. For starters, all the teachers were busy drinking coffee and tapping on their cell phones. And somehow none of them seemed aware of the fact that a student has entered the office.

**_'This school never ceases to amaze me…'_ **

Lester began scanning the room for a potential 'Information Center' and his eyes landed on a somewhat bleak looking teacher in green. He seemed to be the only one not on his cell phone and he was busy scanning through some papers. Lester did the obvious and slowly approached the teacher, hoping to get his advice. When he got close enough, the teacher seemed to notice him and greeted Lester with an unsure smile.

"Um… Hello there. Is there something you need?" asked the teacher timidly, and he was greeted with Lester's special Poker Face. If there was one thing Lester was allergic to, it's people stating the obvious.

"Sorry to bother you, Sensei, but I'm new here and I was wondering if you could recommend some clubs I could join?" asked Lester, with as little irritation as he could muster. The teacher dove into deep thought for a couple of minutes, all the while analyzing Lester like a beast eyeing his prey. Then he grinned like a Cheshire cat and asked innocently:

**_"How good are you at Volleyball?"_ **

And that is how Lester found himself joining Karasuno's Volleyball Team. 


	3. Irritation Level: Kageyama Tobio and Hinata Shouyou!

After being not so subtly manipulated by a teacher, Lester made his way to the Gym, where he would begin his time as a member of Karasuno's Volleyball Club. It's true he wanted to join a club, but Volleyball wasn’t his first choice to be honest. Heck, he has never even played it before! He figured he needed a crash course on the rules and fundamentals of the game as soon as possible. His instinctively began to wonder how it would all play out. I mean, as unlikely as it sounds, what if they ask him to leave because he has never played before? Although the chances of that are slim, it is still a possibility. And what if they do worse? They allow him to stay but he would never be allowed to play in an official match!

Lester found himself subconsciously eating a chocolate bar he bought on the way to the club. He cursed his Nervous Eating Habits for kicking in at the wrong place and during the wrong time. When he finally came to though, he was closing in on the gym. What caught his attention was the sudden burst of orange at the door.

Standing at the door was this really short guy with incredibly orange hair. Lester vaguely remembered him to be the guy he almost ran into after his meeting with Tsukishima. The guy seemed to be giggling to himself and one could almost **_see_** the excitement flowing from him. He too was heading towards the gym while occasionally jumping from joy. Lester couldn’t help but face-palm on that sight. He decided to just follow Orange-san and see what happens.

When Orange-san finally reached the gym, Lester could feel the excitement dissipate from around the guy, and then suddenly, without warning, Orange-san yelled:

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

Lester nearly screamed in surprise due to the sheer force of that yell. He glared at the kid's head, hoping it would magically burst into flame- ah who was he kidding? He has never seen somebody with that much Orange on their heads. Lester walked past the short stuff and entered the gym and saw exactly who Orange-san was talking to. He simply disregarded the fact that neither of them seemed to notice his existence.

It was a black-haired kid who was almost as tall as Lester was, keyword here being **_almost._** He stared at Orange-san with slight amusement. Then realization seemed to hit him:

"Wait… Didn't I meet you last year? But somehow I don’t your name…" said Kuro-san with slight indifference.

That seemed to trigger something inside Orange-san because he irritatingly stated that his name was Hinata Shōyō, so Lester proceeded to update the 'Fellow Humans' part of his brain. The rivalry between Hinata and Kuro-san was glaringly obvious, although Lester was unaware of the details.

"I'm sure that you probably don’t remember the team you defeated last year during your first match!" declared Hinata defiantly.

Kuro-san had a pensive look on his face before saying: "Oh I remember you alright." He then stared at Hinata with scrutiny. Hinata began foolishly challenging him to a fight, but then Kuro-san completely shut him by saying three words, and no, he didn’t suddenly declare his love:

**__** **_"You were terrible!"_ **

Hinata had a shocked look on his face and he froze in his place. "Stop making fun of me! It's true that we lost terribly to you guys last year, but this time, I will win no matter what... at least that's what I had in mind until now! What are you doing here?!? I can't have my revenge if we're on the same team! Why didn’t you go to some other school with strong players?" asked Hinata frantically. Lester could feel the sheer despair that Hinata was feeling. After all, revenge trumps everything else.

Kuro-san seemed slightly annoyed and somewhat embarrassed to admit that the strongest school in the prefecture rejected him. This made Hinata become slightly skeptical. "You didn't make it? Even though you're the King of the Court?" That seemed to have hit a nerve within Kuro-san, as he turned angrily towards Hinata and said:

"Don't ever call me that again!"

Lester couldn’t hold back the heavy sigh he let out. If these two were his future teammates, then he would have a hard time coping with the new lifestyle. Miraculously, Kuro-san and Hinata seemed to finally acknowledge Lester's presence, as the simultaneously faced him with questioning looks.

"What? Is there something on my face?" asked Lester innocently.

"When did you get here?!?" asked Hinata with shock lacing his voice. Lester couldn’t help but chuckle a little bit.

"It amazes me that you JUST realized I was standing here. I arrived here the same time you did…" answered Lester amusingly. Really, the sheer obliviousness that Hinata possessed was astonishing. Kuro-san seemed to be the smarter one, as he asked the more pressing question of Lester's Identity. Lester faced him and said excitedly: "I've always wanted to say this line! Well, **_' Is it not customary to introduce yourself first?'_** or something like that!"

Kuro-san looked slightly irritated before saying "My name is Kageyama Tobio. Now it's your turn…"

"Although this isn’t the first time I say this, but my name is Lester Wilson, but here it would be Wilson Lester. I was persuaded to join the Volleyball Club by a teacher" said Lester with massive amusement. Honestly, these people always keep him entertained.

Just as Kageyama was about to respond, they all heard people talking, and it was clearly getting closer.

"Apparently, Kitagawa's first setter is on our team!"

"Feh! I heard the guy is totally cocky though…"

"Well just try not to scare him away, alright?"

"Why would I do something like that?"

Kageyama turned toward the source of the three voices and greeted them. They were 3 guys in black, to be honest. One of them had his head shaved and was glaring at the first year trio. The guy in the middle seemed somewhat more normal, with typical, spiky hair. And the last one had what Lester thought was some kind of hybrid between Blonde and Gray. Lester was visibly taller than the three of them and he also noticed he was taller than Kageyama. Hinata didn’t even fit in the equation as he was the shortest guy Lester has ever seen.

The guy with the shaved head came up to them and began saying "Hey! Who said you guys could be here?" but was interrupted by the spiky haired guy, who grabbed him by the neck of his shirt and pulled him back, his attention solely on Kageyama.

"Are you Kageyama?" said Spiky-san; while Hybrid-san declared his awe at Kageyama's height, disregarding the fact Lester was taller, even if slightly. Hinata sneaked behind the trio and began verifying Kageyama's height.

Gleefully, Hinata began demanding attention. "Osu!" said Hinata proudly, only to be greeted with Lester's giggles as the trio completely ignored him. Lester felt sorry for him, so he went to his side and patted his back.

"Watch and Learn, Hinata-san!" said Lester while Hinata looked at him expectantly. Clearing his throat, Lester began ranting enough for them to hear: "Excuse me, trio of people I do not know, but could you please stop fawning over Kageyama and start acknowledging our presence?" That seemed to do the trick, as both Kageyama and the trio turned and stared at Hinata and Lester. "Ya hi there. I'm Lester Wilson and this is Hinata Shōyō. We're applicants to the club as well."

"GAH! You!" said Shaved-san while pointing at Hinata, "You're Shorty #1 aren't you?!"

**_'I feel so invisible…'_** thought Lester while his shoulders slumped in dismay.

"So then the other applicants are the two of you? I must say I'm quite shocked to see you here" said Spiky-san while looking at Hinata with amazement. Hybrid-san then told Hinata that they saw his match last year against Kageyama's previous school. From what Lester could gather, although he was short, Hinata's speed, agility, and jumping capabilities were so superb, that they make up for his height. They were just like Lester's luck before it decided to start P.M.S-ing.

"I may be short, but I can jump! No matter what, I'm gonna be Karasuno's Ace!" declared Hinata proudly.

Kageyama seemed somehow offended by Hinata's declaration, because he mockingly said: "You want to be the ace? I hope you've improved since last time, otherwise you're just gonna waste three more years."

This seemed to be the last straw, as Hinata donned a fierce look on his face. "I gave it my all last year, so you can't simply say that everything I've done was a complete waste!" and then the two of them kept glaring at each other, kinda like Lester's Glare-Off with Tsukishima. Spiky-san tried to calm them down by reminding them that they were now both on the same team and that they should work together, but he was completely ignored as Hinata challenged Kageyama to a volleyball match. Lester took a peak at Spiky-san and instantly knew that this guy was not to be angered.

Just as Spiky-san was about to speak, the guys heard a voice coming from outside: "Hey, what's with all the commotion, Volleyball Club? You'd better not be fighting."

**_'Crap! That’s the dean!'_** whispered Shaved-san, so Lester knew that Hinata and Kageyama's cat fight might start to get out hand soon.

"No, I'm pretty sure that this qualifies as a Volleyball Style Cat-Fight…" thought Lester a little too out loud, causing everybody to give him a look."Oh yeah, now everybody notices me" said Lester with a snort. He then pointed towards the duo that was now on opposite sides of the court. It looked as though Kageyama was about to serve the ball to Hinata, who was slightly crouching down. The next bit made Lester's mouth fall to the floor. Kageyama threw the ball upward then jumped and smacked the ball with incredible force. Hinata could barely dodge the ball the hit the wall behind him. Hinata looked visibly surprised, and so were the others.

Spiky-san, now known as 'Daichi-san', tried to calm them down to no avail, making the dean appalled at how the first years won't even listen to their captain.

"Just tell me how that is any different from last year?" mocked Kageyama, which seemed to aggravate Hinata even more. Kageyama then proceeded to serve again, but this time Hinata was quick and reached the predicted spot where the ball would hit. However, he really was lousy and the ball bounced off his face straight towards Lester. Lacking any Volleyball experience, Lester simply copied Hinata's movements, and the ball bounced off. Luckily, it didn’t hit his face, but it did hit somebody. And unluckily for Lester, it smacked the dean right on his cheek and caused his wig to fall.

The 6 students' faces were now horrified by what just happened, and Lester fought the urge to scream **_' DEAR GOD I AM SO SCREWED!!'_** Kageyama then pointed out the obvious that the dean was wearing a wig, while Hinata told him everybody could tell that from the beginning.

* * *

After the dean had a few words with him, Daichi-san began addressing the other 5. "Luckily for us, the dean won’t punish us and has agreed to forget the whole incident if we all promise we saw nothing."

Slight shock ran through everybody's mind and Lester pointed out what everybody was thinking: "You mean as long as we hide the fact he's bald, we'll be ok?" and was met with Daichi's uncertain laugh and nod.

"But more importantly, the two of you-" began Daichi but was cut off by Kageyama and Hinata's bickering. Lester couldn’t handle whiny people so he smacked them both and told them to **_' Calm their tits and listen to the guy!'_**

Daichi sent Lester a grateful look before he continued: "Look, I do not know why you guys came to Karasuno, but I'm sure you had victory on your mind. Karasuno's Volleyball club is ranked among the top 8 in the prefecture. We are neither a good nor a bad team. Many people call us the 'Fallen Crows'. But this year, that is going to end! We are going to Nationals!"

Daichi's speech added even more unnecessary pressure on Lester. He became terrified that his ineptitude at volleyball may prevent the team from reaching their dream. However, he was snapped out of his trance by Kageyama's words:

"But there are many schools that hope to go to nationals…"

Daichi's face turned terrifyingly serious and then he said: "Don’t worry, I meant what I said" and hereby instilling fear into the duo. "But, for that to happen, we must be unified as a team. I understand that at some point you were on opposite sides of the court, but now you play alongside each other!" at this point Lester felt himself being dragged by the remaining duo, making a distance between them and Hinata and Kageyama. Lester soon saw the look on Daichi's face and realized that it was best they stay away from them. "I'm not asking you to be buddies with each other, but you must learn to work together as teammates!"

Suddenly, Daichi placed his hands on both of them and started showing them towards the exit. "If you can't do that" then he pushed them both out and threw their application forms in their faces "You are not wanted here! Until you learn to work together as teammates, you are not allowed in this club!" and he simply closed the door.

Lester could hear them yelling **_'SAY WHAT?!?'_** and merely giggled in response. But then it got worse, as they both began begging to be let in, and they started promising to get along with each other. They really have no clue how these sort of things work do they? Ultimatums are there for a reason. If they start saying they will get along this soon after it has been declared, then there is no way Daichi will let them in, as it is obvious they're just saying it to be let in again. That was proven when he opened the door and asked them if they truly mean that, but Kageyama caved in and told him he'd rather 'spike, toss, and receive all by himself rather than playing with that guy'.

Meanwhile, Lester realized he was the only first year left. He looked around nervously, not really knowing what to do. His behavior was noticed by Hybrid-san, who slowly approached him with a smile on his face. "I'm sorry, we've kinda ignored you haven’t we?" said Hybrid-san and was met with Lester's best **_'No Shit Sherlock'_** face. He began laughing and then continued: "Don’t worry it wasn’t on purpose! Anyway, I'm Sugawara Koushi! I'm the vice-captain for the club; it's nice to meet you." And then he held out his hand, which Lester gladly shook.

"I'm Lester Wilson, a foreign exchange student from the U.S" began Lester with a nervous smile on his face "I signed up like an hour ago, and I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to be doing…"

Sugawara then let out a big 'Wow' as he eyed Lester. "You're really tall aren’t you? Probably taller than Kageyama! Have you ever played Volleyball before?" asked Sugawara innocently, unaware of Lester's internal turmoil over this particular topic. He did however notice the guilty look on Lester's face and then giggled. "Judging by the look on your face, you're not very good are you? Then, what made you join?"

Lester shuddered as he remembered how easily that teacher talked him into joining. "I went to the faculty office to ask about the clubs. I asked this bleak looking teacher about it, and after he analyzed me, he somehow talked me into joining. And so, here I am!" said Lester, while gesturing with his arms wide open.

Sugawara placed his hand reassuringly on Lester's shoulders. "Don’t worry, you're still a first year, so you have a long time to train and get better. We're about to begin our training session anyway, so I'll help you with the basics! Besides although your aim wasn’t very good, I saw how you received the ball after it hit Hinata's face. You may lack experience with the game, but I can tell you've got a bit of potential."

Lester beamed at Sugawara's offer and thanked him profusely. As long as he learned the basics, he could worry about being an expert some other time. And who knows? Perhaps he's a natural at volleyball.

And that's how it began. Until nightfall, Lester began practicing with Sugawara while the rest of team practiced together. At one point, Lester could still hear the cat-fight duo bickering outside of the gym, while he occasionally caught a glimpse of Hinata peaking through the window. And at another point, he met Shimizu Kiyoko, the clubs manager. He had to admit, she was incredibly beautiful. Tanaka, or the person who was named Shaved-san, tried flirting with here, but she flat out ignored his existence. That made Lester forget any thoughts he had about approaching her. Sugawara taught him the rules of volleyball and a little bit of everything, ranging from serves to blocking. He also found out that Lester was a bit sloppy in his technique, but he was a very quick learner. He was able to get the hang of everything Sugawara taught him in a considerably short amount of time. He was right when he assumed Lester had potential, all he needs is practice and experience.

When practice finally came to an end, Hinata and Kageyama barged into the gym, challenging their Senpai to a two-on-two match. Lester couldn’t help but face-palm at the absurdity of their suggestion, while Tanaka flat out laughed at their challenge. However, Daichi-san seemed to seriously consider their offer, especially after Kageyama declared he would accept any penalty should he lose. "To be honest, every year we hold a match to see what the first years are made of. Other than the three of you, there are 2 more prospective members. You will face a three-on-three match against them."

Lester began to slightly panic, he had just started learning the game, and now he is required to play a match. Sugawara calmed him down by saying that he'll be just fine. Hinata then broke the silence and said: "But we're a total of 5 people, how are we going to have a three-on-three match?"

Daichi seemed to agree with him and then he turned to Lester and said: "That all depends on Lester-san's choice. If he chooses to be on your team, then I will join the other first years. If he chooses to be on the other team, then Tanaka will join your team. You have until tomorrow to decide, Lester-san." All eyes were on Lester at that moment. He didn’t really need all this unnecessary pressure and responsibility. However, it was inevitable. He then asked Daichi who were the other two, to which he began recalling their names and then finally answering with: "If I remember correctly, their names are Yamaguchi Tadashi and Tsukishima-"

**_"ABSOLUTELY NOT!"_ **

Daichi looked a little surprised by Lester's sudden outburst as he gave Lester a quizzical look. "But why not? Do you know them?"

Lester shuddered again as he recalled his encounters with Tsukishima. That guy was like a telephone pole that was always in Bitch Mode. "I have had the unfortunate opportunity to be in the same class as them. While I don’t really mind Yamaguchi-san, I cannot stand that obnoxious Tsukishima. I can handle these two children, but I refuse to spend any amount of time with Grumpy McBitch more than I absolutely need to." Declared Lester with a snort    and then asked Daichi if that was alright with him.

"Well I guess this way I won't have a repeat of Kageyama and Hinata. So be it then, Lester, Hinata and Kageyama will face against me and the other first years." Said Daichi before continuing "Tanaka will be there to keep an eye on you." Tanaka seemed shocked at his nomination to be their babysitter, but Daichi persuaded him by boasting about how Tanaka was the only one who could discipline them, which did the trick faster than a lion would attack his prey. "However, if you guys lose, then Kageyama will never be allowed to play as a setter!" That seemed to hit a nerve within Kageyama, and Daichi continued to taunt him by saying he would be perfectly fit to play in other positions.

"But I'm a Setter!" yelled Kageyama defiantly, to which Daichi merely responded by telling to win. Hinata tried to gain their attention, but was ignored as Sugawara closed the gym door, leaving a fuming Kageyama and a confused Hinata outside. Lester wondered if he should've joined them, but decided to think on that later.

"Don’t you think you're being a bit too hard on them, Daichi-san? You're being stricter than usual" said Sugawara, voicing his concern, "Do you have some kind of reason for doing that?"

Lester already figured out that reason. Judging by the look on Kageyama's face, apparently he will do anything to be the team's setter, and Daichi-san exploited that fact to ensure that Kageyama will do anything to win the match and keep his position as a setter. But then his theory was shut down when Daichi explained the real reason. Apparently, Kageyama was a tyrant in his Junior High Team, meaning he hogs everything with every chance he gets. If he were to continue this way, then even if he had outstanding talent, he would surely make the team lose. Plus, this time Hinata is with him. The two of them are imperfect alone, but if they combine their abilities, it would form a deadly combination!

Lester wondered how they would be able to train, since Hinata and Kageyama are still technically banned from the club. But then Tanaka-san fixed that problem by not so subtly telling them when practice begins. And so unfortunately for him, he now has to wake up at 5 A.M starting from today until the match in order to practice. And so, he returned home immediately after bidding the rest of team goodbye. Daisuke was nowhere to be found, probably out drinking or something. And so Lester had a cup of instant ramen, took a nice, long bath, and then headed straight to bed in preparation for tomorrow.

* * *

Lester found it excruciatingly difficult to wake up at 4:30 A.M. He literally had to drag his body out of the bed. Yawning the entire way, he finally reached the gym and realized he was a tad bit early. He tried to open the door, but he found it was locked. His lack of sleep was affecting him, as he was present when they locked the door. After a short while, Kageyama and Hinata showed up.

"Lester-san? What are you doing here?" asked Hinata, who was then met with Lester's infamous poker face.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I was waiting for you guys. I thought that since we'll be on the same team, we should practice together" answered Lester with a slight hint of irritation "but the door is locked and I don’t have the key. So we're gonna have to find someplace else to train."

Just as Lester was done talking, Tanaka showed up out of nowhere, twirling a key in his hands. He pointed the key towards us and told us to beat it before morning practice begins at 7. Hinata and Kageyama began flattering him by calling him 'Tanaka-senpai' while Lester merely giggled. This was the first time he had ever been on a team, and he can already tell he is not going to regret his decision.

However he will have a nice chat with that teacher…


	4. The Crash Course Before The Match!

Since the beginning of the training session, Kageyama has been serving to Lester and Hinata in an attempt to improve their receiving skills. Needless to say, it was a complete catastrophe. Hinata couldn’t reach the ball quick enough for some reason and always fell down, while Lester seemed to enjoy getting smacked in the face with the ball.

Kageyama was not pleased at all…

"Are you kidding me? What happened to your speed and reflexes from yesterday?!?" demanded Kageyama furiously. Hinata was more concerned about getting a chance to jump and spike, and was incredibly vocal about it. Lester on the other hand was enjoying the comfort of laying face-down on the floor. This whole Receive thing was getting on his nerves. He yelped in surprise as Kageyama lifted him from the ground. "And what is wrong with you? You're even worse than he is! You're the tallest one of us, yet you are completely useless!"

Lester glared daggers at Kageyama before saying: "Listen here you little brat! Unlike the rest of you, this is the first time I ever play volleyball, so cut me so effin slack you goddamn idiot!" and then he smacked Kageyama's hand away from his shirt. "I want to win just as much as you do, for different reasons of course as I couldn’t care less what position you play, but I assure you that bitching all day isn’t gonna help one bit!"

Kageyama responded with a glare of his own and was about to snap back but was interrupted by Tanaka-san. "You guys keep it down! While Daichi-sain is usually gentle, he's extremely scary when he's mad…" The trio shuddered and simultaneously let out a **_' We know…'_** then Tanaka continued: "I don’t want to think what he'll do if he finds out about this practice session."

Lester snorted then said: "Technically, while I'm on their team, I'm not banned from the club, so I think I'm safe for the time being." Then he shot a peace sign at the others, earning him shocked and slightly envious looks. But then suddenly, the door opened, and all four of them turned to look at the intruder, who turned out to be non other that Sugawara-san.

"I knew it! You're having a morning practice!" exclaimed Sugawara as he entered the gym. "Hey Guys!"

Tanaka looked horrified, so did Kageyama and Hinata, while Lester was kinda glad as he got along with Sugawara the most. "Suga-san, why are you here?!? How did you find out about the session?"

Sugawara began giggling as he put on his sneakers. "Well you were super weird yesterday. I mean, you're rarely on time, but you somehow volunteered to open up the gym in the morning, so I knew something was up!"

And so, that was how Sugawara joined the, as he put, **_'Super Secret Training Sessions'_**. Tanaka and Kageyama were practicing tossing, while Lester and Hinata had Sugawara coach them in the cursed art of receiving. Every time Lester begins to get the hang of it, he screws up the next time. Hinata was no better, but at least he had his jumping to make up for it. Lester then came to the conclusion that he needed to exploit either his height or his unpredictable luck. Since betting on his malfunctioning luck could prove dangerous, he decided to utilize his height. Although Lester was tall, Tsukishima was even taller, which would definitely prove to be a problem. Lester hoped that his luck would fix itself soon, as he needed it urgently.

"Oi, Lester!" yelled Kageyama, who received Lester's irritated look as a result. Lester approached him and asked him what he wanted. "I'm sure you already know, but you are a disgrace to all Volleyball players across the globe…" began Kageyama and watched as Lester had to be restrained by a worried Sugawara to prevent him from pouncing at Kageyama, "… but you're gifted with height, so I want you to handle all the blocking during the match on Saturday."

Lester paused for a second before nodding at Kageyama's proposition. "So what you're saying is all I have to do is prevent them from scoring, right? Sounds easy enough…" He then requested a test shot to see if he could block them, so Kageyama and Tanaka stood on the other side of the court and prepared to toss the ball. Lester took a deep breath and began concentrating. He needed to jump at the right time so that he won't be too late to stop the ball. Kageyama then tossed the ball to Tanaka who jumped very quickly in an attempt to spike the ball. It happened so fast that it caught Lester off guard. He jumped as high as he could and while he was able to jump a significant height, he was too slow and the ball passed right past him. Time seemed to slow down as he fell back down. He could see the look of disapproval on Kageyama's face. Even he had to admit that that was pathetic. All he had to do was jump and stop the ball, yet he screwed up on something so simple.

When he finally reached the ground, Kageyama groaned in frustration. "Tch… you guys are useless! How do you expect me to work with you if you can't even do something as simple as this?"

Lester was beyond furious. He gave Kageyama a death glare as he resisted the urge to punch the little brat. But he still had a point. Lester needed to get better at this, and he needed to do it quickly. The match was nearing and they had yet to start working as a team. He had to surpass this obstacle. There was no way he was going to lose to Tsukishima, and so he vowed to not rest until he has master both blocking and receiving. His best bet was to ask Sugawara to be his tutor or something. Hinata had it worse though, with Kageyama refusing to toss to him. I mean he's a spiker, so it's necessary that the setter toss to him. Kageyama's earlier words rang inside his head.

**_"I'll toss to anyone who I deem essential to for winning, and right now, I don’t think you are essential. Neither of you"_ **

Before Lester could respond, Tanaka and Sugawara reminded them that it is almost 7 A.M and morning practice was about to start. They needed to hide any evidence that there was a training session in there. Lester grumbled as he help clean up, but not without glaring daggers at Kageyama. He was starting to regret joining this team. Perhaps Tsukishima would've been a better teammate than-… Who was he kidding? Lester would probably slit his throat if he spent any amount of time with him…

* * *

As his classes began, Lester did his best to completely avoid Tsukishima and Yamaguchi, as he didn’t really want to deal with them at the moment. He could barely focus in class, as Kageyama's words kept echoing in his mind. Was he really that bad? I mean, sure he wasn't the best, but at least he had some potential… right? Those thoughts kept circling his mind the whole time. And finally, Lester gathered up the determination he required.

**_'Kageyama can go screw himself for all I care, I'll do it for myself. I'll get better… I'll be the best blocker there is… I just need to practice, and I know just the guy to help!'_ **

When the lunch break came, Lester found Hinata and they both agreed to help each other train, since clearly Kageyama cared about nobody but himself. They decided to ask the best candidate for a mentor: Sugawara. While he looked hesitant, Sugawara agreed to help them. The trio then went outside the gym and began to practice receiving, since it seemed to be their shared weakness. Of course, with Hinata being there, that didn’t last long. Hinata kept nagging about how he wanted to practice spiking instead of receiving, and was pissed that Kageyama refused to toss to him.

"You know I'm Karasuno's official setter. I can toss to you if you'd like, Hinata!" suggested Sugawara, and while it got Hinata excited for a moment, he then lost his vigor when he realized that accepting Sugawara's offer meant that he would accept defeat at the hands of Kageyama.

Lester sighed deeply. This was getting them nowhere, he then faced Hinata and said: "Why are you so determined to get Kageyama to acknowledge you? He's just another stuck-up little brat…"

"It's not that… It's just that when I was in Junior High, I practically was the only member of the club. My friends from other clubs used to help me train, and even the Girls' Team was there for me. But… we were never really teammates. I mean sure they're my friends and I care about them, but I can't call them my teammates. Besides, I've only ever been in one official match anyway. That is why I was so excited to come here and meet the person who was gonna be my setter, but I never expected it to be the one person I vowed to defeat" said Hinata with quite the sad tone. Lester couldn't help but feel a bit sorry for him.

"I see… Kageyama used to be your most formidable opponent. But you need to realize that now he is your most formidable ally. You need to learn to work together. Even you, Lester-san, I can tell you don’t get along with him very well, but you should at least try to. It might pay off in the future" said Sugawara, trying to salvage what was left of the team's cooperation.

Lester simply looked away and said nothing. Kageyama wasn’t the problem; it was what he said that pissed Lester off. He knew he was bad at volleyball, but Kageyama had no right to call him a failure. It wasn’t his fault that he has never played before, but Kageyama's massive ego prevents him from trying to understand his teammates.

* * *

After that, Lester moved on with his day. He gave up trying to pay attention in class. He wondered if Tsukishima knew that he was in the volleyball club as well, but since Lester was doing his best to avoid him, he couldn’t really know. When the day was over, he ran into Hinata again in the hallway, and the two of them made their way to the gym. Lester thought it was a bit stupid, since Hinata was still banned. And when he voiced his thoughts, Hinata gave him a sheepish smile and said: "Well, I was kinda hoping you could talk to the captain and see if he would let us use the gym for prac-" but he wasn't able to finish, as he was interrupted by Lester's fist smacking his head.

"You idiot, you know full well that I can't do that! I'm a first year just like you, I can't just ask the captain to revoke his orders! We'll manage somehow…"

Hinata looked disappointed before taking a peek inside the gym. The club was currently stretching and probably warming up before practice. Lester has been temporarily excused from regular sessions in order to practice alongside his teammates for the upcoming match, but that was soon turning into a catastrophe. If Kageyama would just cooperate, then they could all devise a strategy that covers their weaknesses. Suddenly, Hinata leaned backwards and was met by Kageyama, who announced he found a good training spot.

"Wow Kageyama, it seems you do have some use after all" said Lester, earning him an irritated look from Kageyama as he led them towards his training spot.

The training spot turned out to be an empty area across the soccer field. Kageyama sure knew how to exaggerate…

The trio continued to practice receiving, and both Lester and Hinata were thinking of when they'll practice the parts they want.

"I wonder what our opponents are gonna be like? I mean it's still better than facing our senpai but…" wondered Hinata out loud. Lester tensed a bit as he remembered who their opponents were.

"They happen to be my classmates, to be honest." Said Lester, who was greeted by an eager Hinata who wanted more information, and a grumpy Kageyama, who claimed he didn’t care who they were since he was gonna win anyway. Lester sighed and then continued: "Whether you care or not, you should at least have an idea of what you'll be up against. I barely know them since yesterday was the very first day, but I can somehow tell they're not pushovers…"

Lester told them to pay attention, as he had no intention of repeating. "First up is Yamaguchi Tadashi. The guy is kinda tall, but Kageyama and I are still taller. I have no idea whether or not he's a pro at volleyball, but he would most likely have some experience. But I think the one we should look out for is his friend, Tsukishima Kei, who is also known as Telephone Pole-san, Grumpy McBitch, and Mankind's First P.M.S-ing Male. He is by far the tallest guy I have ever seen. He could easily be taller than 185 cm! He is going to be tough to beat… Sorry I couldn't help more, but like I said, I barely know those two, and I've been avoiding them today so…"

Lester got a few weird looks about his choice of nicknames, but Kageyama and Hinata soon looked pensive, probably taking in the information Lester just told them. Then the trio decided to continue practicing, with disastrous results.

* * *

Practice lasted longer than expected, and by the time Lester was exhausted, it was already nighttime. For some reason, he felt a chill run down his spine, but he attributed it to fact that it was a bit chilly and they were wearing T-shirts. However, when Kageyama tossed the ball again to Hinata, Lester found the reason for the chill. The ball was caught by a hand, and that hand belonged to none other than Tsukishima, who was standing along with Yamaguchi. The height difference between Hinata and Tsukishima was glaringly obvious. Tsukishima had a smug look that Lester wanted to knock right off, but held back barely. Tsukishima did however take a glance at him, and his eyes widened slightly, but his smug look returned quickly.

"Wow, you really are practicing outdoors" said Tsukishima mockingly, and was greeted by a triple set of glares. Kageyama demanded Tsukishima's exact height, and the trio was shocked to see that he was almost 190cm tall! This would definitely prove to be troublesome. "I heard that losing isn't an option to you is it? But I really don’t care whether I win or lose, so I can go easy on you if you'd like…" said Tsukishima with a smile that set of Lester's anger.

"It doesn’t matter either way, we're still gonna kick your sorry, pathetic ass…" declared Lester angrily as he donned a somewhat murderous look on his face. Tsukishima had the uncanny ability to piss him off every time he opened his mouth. Somebody should seriously sew it shut. Surprisingly, Tsukishima looked pissed off too, but he just started giggling.

"Well you may be able to do that, since you have The King of the Court on your side."

That seemed to hit a nerve in Kageyama just like yesterday. "Don’t ever call me that!" yelled Kageyama, but it only made Tsukishima more amused.

"So it's true then… You get mad if we call you the King. Don't know why though, it's a cool nickname if you ask me…" pointed Tsukishima out in a matter-of-fact tone. Kageyama lost it. He turned around and was about to punch a smirking Tsukishima, but he let go and walked away. Tsukishima kept taunting him, which for some reason pissed HINATA off. So when Tsukishima was playing with the ball, Hinata used his Super Duper Jump to catch the ball, which for the first time left Tsukishima in severe awe.

"Cut the crap! Who cares about the king? There are 2 others you know! I'll spike every tossed ball over your giant head and score!" declared Hinata, which earned him a glare from Tsukishima that intimidated him.

Lester suddenly remembered the introductions, and connected the dots. "Oh yeah, I should also mention that Grumpy McBitch here really hates overly-energetic people, so watch out, Hinata-san!" informed Lester. And he got a venomous look from Tsukishima and a somewhat surprised look from Yamaguchi, who has finally had some kind of reaction. "What? I have a good memory. Don’t start jinxing it." The pair then started walking away, and Lester took this as a chance to answer the glaringly impending questions. "Blondie over there is First Year Class 4's Tsukishima Kei, while the other guy is Yamaguchi Tadashi. Now you know who we are up against."

Kageyama pondered and began walking home, and Lester was also following suit. But Hinata yelled at them to return, as we weren’t done yet, much to Lester's dismay. "How much stamina do you have, Hinata-san? We've been practicing the whole day, and I have yet to improve my blocking you know!" complained Lester, as he eyed the other two, who didn’t plan on stopping anytime soon. He finally caved when they started without him, and joined them reluctantly.

At some point Sugawara and Tanaka came by and saw the trio still training. Kageyama's tosses began to get a bit hard as he was probably still reeling from his encounter with Tsukishima. But Hinata and Lester's determination allowed them to power through.

* * *

The days went by with each day marking a new training day. While he practiced receiving with Kageyama and Hinata after school, Lester asked if Tanaka and Sugawara would help him with his blocking, to which they agreed. He had to admit it was slightly tough. He wasn’t able to get the timing right and always ended up jumping a bit too late or a bit too early. His height gave him a boost in jumping, but timing was still an issue to be resolved. But he persevered. He would make Kageyama take back his comment about him being a failure by showing him that he could surpass his noob level, and become on the same level as everybody else.

Hinata gave it his all with his receiving lessons. He was trying extra hard to properly receive in order to finally get a toss from Kageyama. Ironic how he was getting help from the person he wants to impress.

Of course, all this training has been draining them mentally. Lester's sleep deprivation made him crankier than usual, and he would snap at anybody who would so much as approach him, but he always apologized afterwards. He no longer tried to avoid the two misfits, and simply glared at Tsukishima every chance he got.  But he never gave up. Lester kept on training even after failing. But, on one fateful occasion, he was able to finally block Tanaka's spike.

"AWWWW YEAH! I did it!" yelled Lester happily while jumping up and down. Sugawara and Tanaka exchanged a look and smiled and the incredibly cheerful Lester. It finally happened. He finally blocked a spike! All he needed to do was to carefully time his jump to coincide with Tanaka's and he was finally able to do it. He couldn’t wait to show his partners that he has achieved his goal.  But he needed a good night's rest. He turned around and faced his upperclassmen and said: "I want to thank you deeply! I couldn’t have done it without you. Now I finally have something I can do. So thank you, Sugawara-san, Tanaka-san!" and he was greeted by a sheepish look from Sugawara and a gleeful reaction from Tanaka. Lester had a feeling he would sleep well that night.

* * *

The next day Lester didn’t wake up as early as usual and so he was a bit late. When he arrived at the gym, he saw that his partners were already there practicing. They were still on receiving lessons, so Lester decided to give them some space and let them perfect it. A couple of minutes later, Sugawara came and was visibly surprised that Hinata and Kageyama were still at it. He glanced around and when his eyes fell on Lester leaning against the wall, he approached him. "Good Morning, Lester-san!" greeted Sugawara, and was greeted by Lester's own Good Morning. "How long have they been here?" asked Sugawara curiously while watching said duo.

Lester thought about it for a bit and then responded saying: "I came in here around 5 mins ago, but I do not know how long they were here before then. They seem quite determined." Sugawara looked at them with awe and remained silent and joined Lester in observing the training session. Tanaka then came and asked the same question, and he also got the same answer. Then suddenly after missing too many shots, Hinata yelled at Kageyama to not stop and to keep going, to which Kageyama responded by throwing a high toss. "YOU IDIOT! That’s too high! How's he gonna reach it?" berated Lester, but he was cut off when he saw Hinata run with amazing speed. He then dove and successfully saved the ball, and it flew towards Kageyama. Lester noticed a change in Kageyama's pose, as he prepared to send the ball back. However, instead of his usual throws, Kageyama finally tossed it to Hinata.

Hinata was exhausted, but when he saw that Kageyama finally tossed, he instantly cheered up and ran to spike it. Lester took this as a chance, and ran as fast as he could towards the opposite side of the field and prepared himself. He repeated what he did yesterday, and coincided his jump with Hinata's, and to the surprise of everybody in the gym, he was able to successfully block Hinata's spike! It wasn’t a perfect block at all, but it was a feat. Lester grinned cheerfully as he saw the shocked look on both Kageyama and Hinata's faces.

"What? Did you honestly think I've been wasting my time? I have been training just as hard as the two of you, and now I have finally learned to successfully block! Now we can definitely beat Grumpy McBitch and his Lackey during Saturday's game!" declared Lester proudly and was greeted by Kageyama's smirking face and Hinata's cheerful smile that soon turned into a look of nausea and he then proceeded to throw up all over Lester's shirt, causing him to scream bloody murder and push Hinata over to Kageyama.

Now that they were finally starting to work together, there was nothing that could stop them. Lester only hoped nothing unexpected would happen that may ruin their chances of winning…

He also remembered to re-stock his snack supply, as his nerves were starting to act up…


	5. The Beginning of the First-Year Match!

The day finally arrived.

Currently, both teams were inside the gym preparing for the match. Hinata and Kageyama were stretching, while Lester began munching on some cookies to ease his nerves. He knew it was a bad idea, but he had no choice if he wanted to avoid a nervous breakdown. Everything was going smoothly, until a certain somebody decided to open his mouth.

"The little one and the foreigner, I wonder which one I should crush- I mean block first?" snickered Tsukishima, causing Hinata and Lester to give him a look of anger. "Oh yeah, I'd also love to see our dear king, who was abandoned by his followers, lose today!"  Yamaguchi looked worried as he tried to get Tsukishima to stop talking as the others could clearly hear him, but he just shrugged him off saying: "That’s the whole point you idiot…"

Lester was beyond furious, but he held down his anger and put on a smile and said: "Ne, Tsukishima. I'm sorry, but could you please go back to speaking Japanese? I'm afraid the rest of us don’t really speak Bitch." This had the opposite effect of what he had in mind… instead of people laughing at his obviously ingenious joke; they all turned to him with the world's biggest **_'WTF'_** look on their faces. Lester let out a heavy sigh and said: "I should really stop translating English jokes to Japanese… I swear humor is wasted on you people… My point is, Tsukishima, stop talking. Your annoying voice is giving me a headache." Hinata giggled at this and Tsukishima glared at Lester, who went back to his cookies.

With that out of the way, both teams huddled up to discuss their strategies. Kageyama deduced that they'll probably expect him to toss to Hinata first, so he decided that the first toss will go to Lester, who protested saying he can barely block well, let alone start spiking too. But Kageyama reassured him saying: "Don’t worry; it's only gonna be this one time, think of smacking Tsukishima in the face, and you'll do fine." and that did nothing but add more pressure to Lester, causing him to eat even more.

When the match finally began, true to his word, Kageyama tossed to Lester, who was fueled by his desire to smack Tsukishima in the face, and he was able to successfully spike it… and he spiked it hard, but unfortunately for Lester, he missed Tsukishima's face. At least he scored a point. "In your face!" yelled Lester and began giggling, "What happened? I though you said you were gonna crush us! Or was that just a bluff to make your ego feel better?" Mocked Lester amusingly and received a glare from Tsukishima, who was scolded by the captain about his earlier remarks. Lester then motioned to Hinata and said: "Go Hinata! You're up next."

Kageyama didn’t need to be told twice, as he tossed to Hinata, who was smiling as he ran to spike it. He jumped his Super Duper Jump and smacked the ball. But unfortunately for him, the height difference finally proved to be a problem. Tsukishima was a giant, and so he was able to block Hinata's spike with ease. "You really can jump can't you? But I guess if you were slightly taller you would be a star." Said Tsukishima mockingly to Hinata, who was both shocked and irritated. Hinata tried again and again, but the height difference was still there and Tsukishima blocked every single one of his spikes. Hinata's skills were top notch, but unless he can somehow bypass the obstacle that is Tsukishima Kei, he's not gonna be scoring anytime soon in this match. Tsukishima couldn’t stop himself, and began taunting Kageyama: "You know he's going to keep getting blocked, so you should do your famous toss that destroys your opponents and decimates your own teammates, Oh great King!"

Tsukishima's attitude remained the source of annoyance for Lester, as he got pissed just listening to him. It was Yamaguchi's turn to serve, and it was catastrophic to say the least. I mean, the ball didn’t even cross to the other side, it hit the net. Lester was slightly overjoyed as this meant he wasn’t the only one that sucked at volleyball. Kageyama looked royally pissed, as he prepared to perform his Super Killer Serve. It was just like the first day. He tossed the ball high up and as it was coming down, he jumped up and smacked it. To their surprise, Daichi-san ran and perfectly received the ball. He then passed it to Tsukishima, who tossed it to Yamaguchi who surprisingly spiked it pretty well. Luckily, Lester was prepared and blocked it with relative ease. Kageyama was both shocked and mad by the fact that his signature serve was easily thwarted. Daichi-san then answered the glaringly obvious question in the room:

"Were you by any chance hoping to score a few points? Sorry, but while I do not have any talents like you, I've been at this a couple years more than you, so my receive is fully integrated into my body."

And of course, a certain little bitch can't keep his mouth shut. "It looks like you're gonna have to pull out your King's Toss after all" said Tsukishima tauntingly, while Kageyama simply looked down to the ground.

"Tsukishima, I truly have to wonder how your lackey tolerates you…" said Lester, throwing his arms up in defeat. He probably won't ever understand how Tsukishima's mind works.

Hinata also made an outburst, but for a completely different reason. "Would you just SHUT IT?! You've been in our faces since day 1 and I've had it with you! Why do you keep blabbering about some 'King's Toss' all the time?!"

Tsukishima gave him a confused look and asked him a simple question. "Do you have any idea why they call him 'The King of the Court'?"

Hinata looked a bit confused, and Lester then said: "Isn't it because he's really good?"

Tsukishima laughed for a bit and said: "Well, you're not the only person who might think that, but no. This was the nickname given to him by his former teammates in Kitagawa Daiichi. 'The Self-centred King' I've heard rumours about it but they were confirmed once I saw that match. He got too oppressive and was forced to spend the rest of the match observing from the bench."

The whole gym turned its attention towards Kageyama, who hasn't uttered a word ever since Tsukishima began taunting. But then: "Ya you're right. My tosses were too reckless. I tossed but there was nobody there to spike them-"

"But wasn't that when you were in Junior high?" asked Hinata. To which Lester backed him up by saying:

"I'm no expert, but the way you tossed to me at the beginning was just fine. I mean I scored for the first time ever! And Hinata's only problem is that he can't get past Telephone Pole-san over there."

Hinata nodded profusely and then declared that all they needed to do was figure out how he can get past Tsukishima, which earned giggles from the seniors. "We have to win this match and become official members. Then you'll be the best setter and you'll toss to me."

Kageyama looked slightly annoyed, while Lester sighed. Tsukishima on the other had had a dark aura around him. "So pure and straightforward... and so irritating" began Tsukishima as he prepared to serve "If you think you can somehow make up for height or talent by effort, then you're dead wrong."

As soon as he finished spouting his usual bullshit, he served the ball. Luckily, it wasn't that fast or strong, so Lester was able to easily receive it. It flew to Kageyama, and while that happened he looked confused. Who should toss to? Lester thought it would logically be him since he can get past Tsukishima, so he ran towards the net. But something unexpected happened. A blur of orange clouded Lester's vision.

"Kageyama, Over Here!" yelled Hinata, much to Kageyama's shock. But he quickly got over it, and tossed to him. Hinata barely spiked it, and it was so lousy that the ball went put. Daichi-san tried to save it but it already went out before he could reach.

"That was too close... I almost missed it" began Hinata before turning towards Kageyama and earning the gym's attention "But that's not the point. I was there when you tossed it. Forget about Junior High and focus on me. No matter what, every time you toss I'll be here to spike it!"

Cue the awkward silence following all of Hinata Shōyō's outbursts...

Lester felt a little guilty for feeling slightly annoyed by his teammate's outburst, but he couldn't handle it. It was just a wee bit too cheesy for his tastes. And then Hinata began bickering with Kageyama regarding his thoughts of 'Quick Hits', which were apparently what Hinata and Kageyama just did, even if Hinata was oblivious to it.

And of course, let's not forget Grumpy McBitch's habit of inappropriate bitching:

"Don't you get it? Psyching yourself up isn't going to make up for your lack of height or talent. Clearly, you aren't made to be a spiker" said Tsukishima with that infuriatingly taunting tone of his. Lester was already slightly irked by Hinata's enthusiasm; he didn't need Tsukishima to deal with as well.

Hinata was about to retort, but Lester involuntarily acted and put his hand over Hinata's mouth, surprising everybody in the court.

"Oh no you don't! I can't believe I'm saying this but I actually agree with Tsukishima on this point" began Lester before removing his hand and facing a somewhat confused Hinata "Do you know why I really don't like Tsukishima? Because I'm a really moody person that gets annoyed very easily and all this cheesiness is starting to get on my nerves. Didn't you notice how you keep yelling about how you'll get past Tsukishima and score? Well now's the time to shut up and just **_do it_**!"

Hinata remained silent as he took in Lester's words. Everybody else looked surprised, as though this wasn't something they expected to happen. Kageyama approached the duo and said: "Getting past a blocker's wall... That's the setter's job!" and then he pulled them both to the side.

"Look Hinata, if you can't spike it then avoid it. Use every reflex you have and spike my tosses ok?" said Kageyama and Hinata responded with a nod. He then turned to Lester and said: "Lester, I'm counting on you to buy us time. You need to stop the other team from scoring long enough for is to master these fast tosses" and he was rewarded with a slightly confused nod from Lester. The match then continued, with Tsukishima serving. Hinata received it, and then ran in an attempt to spike Kageyama's toss. However, despite his speed, the toss was faster, and he ended up missing it completely. Kageyama began yelling at Hinata to be a bit faster, but he stopped mid-sentence when he realised something Lester couldn't piece together.

"Aha! There it is! The King's Toss!" yelled Tsukishima

"You be quiet! You don't have to give your opinion on every goddamned thing!" retorted Lester with a venomous tone. Tsukishima just made a noise and glared at him.

Again and again, Kageyama would toss the ball and Hinata would miss it. It was starting to get frustrating, as there was nothing Lester could do to change this.

Luckily, their savoir Sugawara intervened. "Kageyama, you are repeating what you did in Junior High. You're killing Hinata's speed by tossing fast tosses. I don't know how to explain it but you somehow need to utilise Hinata's talents to your advantage."

Kageyama nodded and then told Hinata not to watch the ball, and just jump. Hinata looked sceptical, and said that he may spike nothing but air if he did that. "It doesn't matter. Just trust me and do as I say."

With that out of the way the match continued, Daichi took the lead and served. While Lester and Hinata prepared to receive, Kageyama began thoroughly analysing the field in preparation for his toss. Lester ended up being the one to receive, while Hinata ran to spike. Kageyama then focused his eyes and tossed it, and it was a perfect toss. Hinata perfectly spiked the ball and scored a point, shocking everybody else, including Lester.

"My hand... IT HIT MY HAND!" yelled Hinata gleefully, receiving a snort from Tsukishima.

Daichi looked even more shocked than the others and said: "Just now... Hinata had his eyes closed!" earning him a united 'SAY WHAT?!?' he then went on to explain that from the moment he jumped till he spiked it, Hinata had his eyes closed.

Lester smacked Hinata's head and yelled: "What were you thinking you idiot?! What if you missed it or something?" and was backed up by Kageyama asking why his eyes were closed.

"You said that I shouldn't watch the ball, but if my eyes are open I can't help but watch it, so I closed them. It's not that big of a deal, after all I did score." responded Hinata proudly, not helping with Lester's irritation.

The process was similarly repeated with Kageyama tossing exactly the same way to Hinata, who spike it just as perfectly. However, Lester noticed that when he got to the top, Hinata opened his eyes slightly, as though to marvel at the sight beyond the wall.

This new technique they have gave Lester some hope that they might be able to win after all...


	6. The Rush of Victory!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From Now on, Bold and Italic Double Quotes are things Lester says in English not Japanese!

It was the best feeling Lester has ever felt. They were practically rubbing it in Tsukishima’s face that they were winning! Kageyama’s tosses were getting better by the second, and Lester and Hinata’s responses were improving just as fast. Okay so maybe not both of them, but it was still and improvement. Right now, they were doing it again. Since Hinata was the main spiker, Tsukishima focused mainly on blocking him, and completely disregarded Lester, just as they predicted. Hinata pretended to jump for a spike and Tsukishima jumped to block him, but unfortunately for him, Kageyama tossed to Lester instead, who more or less spiked it pretty well. This earned their 25th point, thereby securing them a win for the first set.

“BOOOOOOOYAAAAAAAAAH!” yelled Lester at the top of his lungs, feeling immense relief. “Finally! We won!”

Tsukishima looked royally pissed, then he smugly said: “Don’t kid yourself! You won’t win the next two sets!”

Lester faced Tsukishima, tilted his head, and gave him a quizzical look: “Two Sets? What do you mean two sets?”

This caused Tsukishima’s eyes to widen slightly before he donned his signature smirk. “Oh yeah, I forgot you were a walking catastrophe when it comes to volleyball. How can you not know something as basic as this?”

While Lester was busy burning a hole in Tsukishima’s forehead, Sugawara came up to him and reminded him that he literally told him this a week ago when he first came to the club. “Wait… THERE’S MORE?!” yelled Lester frantically “But…BUT!” before he ran to his backpack and practically devoted the box of cookies, earning him a couple of strange looks from his teammates. Not that he particularly cared…

Both teams were currently on their mid-set break, rehydrating and resting for a short while. Lester kept on munching to alleviate his anxiety, while Tsukishima’s team was busy sulking. This whole match made Lester question his decision to join the club. Sure it was fun and all, and he did make some friends… sort of… kinda… but the exhaustion that came with it was not balanced out. Well, this was something to add to the pile of debatable topics. Lester could hear the non-participating team members voice their thoughts on the match so far. He felt a little smug when they all thought that Tsukishima’s team was most likely going to lose since they lacked the conviction that the two misfits had, if that made any sense.

The break wasn’t that long, much to Lester’s dismay. Both teams stood in their respective sides of the court, looking determined for varying reasons. The set was significantly easier than the last, thanks to the new strategy that Lester’s team developed. It mainly relied on fake-outs. Hinata would pretend that Kageyama was planning to toss to him, but he would end up tossing to Lester instead, who spikes it. His spikes weren’t as great as Hinata’s but they did the job, so Lester was satisfied. But there were some hectic times. For example, Hinata and Lester both got face-spiked by the ball, shot by none other than Tsukishima. Then, Tsukishima got super pissed, and removed his sweater violently. Lester resisted the urge to mock him by yelling, in English, **_“This Isn’t a Striptease!”_** but decided against it, since they might understand what he’s saying and that would forever label him as a weirdo. His experience with the Japanese language has taught him that there are many words shared between the two languages, ‘Strip’ being one of them.

Despite putting up a pretty good fight, Tsukishima and Yamaguchi eventually lost. As soon as that happened, everybody fell to the ground from the exhaustion. **_“OH THANK GOD! I’M SO FUCKING TIRED!”_** yelled Lester, feeling genuine relief. “So tired I don’t even have the energy to rub it in Grumpy McBitch’s face…” Speaking of whom, he and Yamaguchi retreated to the corner of the gym. Lester went to rejoin the power duo, but not before accidentally overhearing the seniors, and involuntarily stared.

“Daichi-san, Suga-san… was this what you meant when you said what you said last time?” asked Tanaka-san expectantly. Sugawara and Daichi looked at each other for a sec but then their faces exploded with shock. It was kinda hilarious to say the least. They both shot the idea down by giving what they truly meant.

“I just thought Hinata could get used to Kageyama’s reckless tosses”

“I meant that Kageyama should toss Hinata some tosses he could actually spike”

Lester realized that nobody truly anticipated the result of their cooperation. It made sense, they practically covered up each other’s weaknesses. Lester began thinking whether his contribution even mattered compared to those two. After all, their combination was what scored over half of the points. He was certain that even if he joined Tsukishima’s team, they would have still won regardless. What brought him back to reality was the feeling if being watched, and indeed, Sugawara and Tanaka were still talking, but Daichi-san was looking at the deep in thought Lester with a quizzical look, unaware of the internal turmoil he was facing. Lester noticed that and quickly looked away and resumed walking toward Kageyama and Hinata, pretending that he wasn’t eavesdropping, with varying degrees of success.

“Come on, we have to do it!”

“But I don’t want to!”

Lester heard Kageyama and Hinata argue as he came closer. “What’s with you two? You’d think you’d be jumping around in joy right about now.”

They both turned to face him, and Hinata said: “You too! Just come along.”

And that is how the three of them were marching towards their former opponents. “Oi! Tsukishima!” said Hinata before extending his arm to a confused Tsukishima. “You’re supposed to shake hands before and after a match. We didn’t do it at the beginning, but we should do it now! Besides, we’re… we’re teammates now…”

Tsukishima gave him a blank face before nonchalantly saying: “No”

Hinata looked surprised, Kageyama looked irritated, and Lester had no idea what on earth was going on. “But if you don’t show team spirit, they’ll kick you out!”

“Pretty sure that’s just the two of you, Hinata-san…” said Lester in a matter-of-fact tone. Tsukishima began saying that the reason they got kicked out is because they kept fighting, ignoring the captain’s orders, and more importantly, knocking off the Dean’s toupee. How he found out about all this was a mystery…

“Don’t sweat the minor details…” said Hinata before literally pouncing at Tsukishima. He kept going at it for a while until he finally shook Tsukishima’s hand. Tsukishima looked visibly horrified at Hinata’s sheer persistence. The two misfits then made a run for their bags, looking for something. Lester merely walked towards the wall behind Tsukishima and just leaned on it, running several scenarios for what might happen next.

Daichi approached them, well mainly Tsukishima, but Lester and Yamaguchi were in the background anyway. “Ne, Tsukishima. How did you like the match?” he asked expectantly.

Tsukishima’s signature scowl returned, and he spitefully said: “It doesn’t really matter… He’s a king from a prestigious background. It’s not surprising that commoners like us would lose to him…”

 ** _“Sore loser much?”_** said Lester, deliberately in English. Obviously, he was given a look, but it didn’t last that long, for Daichi resumed his speech.

“Well, even so, you still played seriously!” began Daichi, before turning his attention towards Lester, much to his surprise. “And what about you? How did you find your very first Volleyball Match?”

Lester looked surprised by the sudden question, but quickly hid it. “Well, it was interesting to say the least.” Began Lester before giggling to himself, “It was kinda fun too! Extremely exhausting, but fun nonetheless… I think I enjoyed the feeling of being part of a team the most!”

As soon as he finished saying that, they heard a unified “CAPTAIN!” next to them, and they were greeted by a peculiar sight. Hinata and Kageyama stood there holding out their rejected application forms, pointing them at a surprised Daichi. He took the papers and gave them a brief look, before asking the girl whose name I keep forgetting if ‘They’ are ready yet. She nodded and went to get something from the storage. When she returned, she was holding a small cardboard box. She placed it on the floor and began opening it, only to reveal something Lester never expected.

There in that box lay several black jackets, the same ones the seniors were wearing. They each had “Karasuno High-School Volleyball Team” written on the back. Hinata could barely contain his excitement. The first years took their jackets, and Hinata almost immediately put it on. Tsukishima didn’t first, but after getting nagged at for a couple of minutes, he eventually gave in. Lester eyed the jacket in his hand warily. He was still in the mindset that while everybody was oh so welcoming, he didn’t feel like he belonged there to be honest. After all, they all joined because they loved Volleyball, while Lester simply joined because he had nothing better to do. The ever perceptive Sugawara noticed this and placed a reassuring hand on Lester’s shoulder. “Lester, I know how you feel. You may think otherwise, but you’re one of us now no matter what! Don’t ever doubt that!”

His remark made Lester’s eyes widen the size of UFOs. “How did you- you know what? I don’t care! Thanks, Sugawara-san. I mean it” said Lester, before proudly putting on the jacket and stood next to his fellow first-years. They all had the rest of the team in awe. **_“God, we look amazing!”_** said Lester for no good reason. The rest of the team then all unitedly welcomed them to the team.

“Oi Hinata! Have you rested? Let’s start practicing our quick strikes!” said Kageyama, surprising everybody else. Hinata gladly agreed, and practically jumped towards Kageyama.

“You cannot be serious…” muttered Lester, quietly enough that nobody else heard him. All of a sudden they heard the gym door open, and from it came an overly cheery voice.

“I GOT IT! I got us a practice match with one of the top 4 schools, Aoba Josai!” yelled the guy Immediately, Lester recognized him. This was the guy that ‘persuaded’ him to join the team. Lester then decided to feign ignorance, and pretended as though he did not recognize the guy. The guy then turned towards Hinata and Kageyama, the famed misfits. “You guys must be the controversial Hinata-kun and Kageyama-kun!”

A single thought went through their minds: **_‘Who the hell is he?’_**

“I’m this year’s Volleyball Team Advisor, Takeda Ittetsu!” said the now known Takeda-sensei. “I have zero experience with Volleyball, so I can’t really help you with your technique, but if you need anything else, I’ll gladly do my best! So, nice to meet you!” But it didn’t end there. Takeda-sensei noticed Lester standing next to Yamaguchi and Tsukishima and realization hit him. “Wait, you’re that kid that came to me last week right?”

Lester flinched a bit at the sudden question, and it didn’t help that most eyes were on him. “Yeah… that would be me…”

Takeda-sensei gave him a cheerful smile before saying: “I’m glad you decided to join after all! I hope you enjoy it!”

Lester simply nodded with a smile and then Sugawara and Daichi approached Takeda-sensei and asked how a powerhouse like Aoba Josai agreed to have a practice match. “You didn’t get on your knees and beg again did you?”

Takeda-sensei began laughing awkwardly, but then he said: “Well, I am pretty good at that but I actually didn’t have to this time. However, there is a condition. They requested that Kageyama-kun must play the role of setter throughout the entire game.”

Tanaka then became really annoyed. “HUH?! Do they take us for fools? It sounds to me like they just want to assess Kageyama. What, are they underestimating us or something?”

Lester couldn’t help but think that this whole scenario was odd ** _. ’If their aim was to just have a practice match, then why specifically ask for Kageyama as the setter? Plus, wasn’t Sugawara-san the official setter? Surely, he must have something to say about this.’_**

As though he read his mind, Sugawara said that it was good. “It’s not every day we get a chance like this you know?”

“But, you’re Karasuno’s official setter Suga-san!” exclaimed Tanaka.

“I know that but…” began Sugawara, “I want to see how effective Hinata and Kageyama’s combination is against one of the top four schools in the prefecture.”

Lester couldn’t help but smile at this. Sugawara really cares about the team more than anything. After that, the sun was beginning to go down, so after they cleaned up, the guys all headed out of the school, with Sugawara being the first, and Kageyama following him shortly.

“I need sleep…” exclaimed Lester to nobody in particular while yawning. As soon as he would get home he would take a nice, hot shower before hitting the hay. As he walked behind Hinata, Daichi, and Tanaka, his phone started buzzing. Holding it out, he saw a bunch of messages from the only person that still texts him: His beloved older sister, Amelia Wilson.

**_Amelia: Dude so like, whats up? I’m like totes screwed over with work :’(_ **

**_Lester: If you’re so screwed over, why are you texting me?_ **

**_Amelia: oh shush! Hows japan?_ **

**_Lester: It is fine I guess, I’m playing volleyball now._ **

**_Amelia: ERMEGERD! For reals? thats so nt u! XD_ **

**_Lester: You really need to start typing properly… I gotta go though, ttyl._ **

Just as he was about to put his phone back in his pocket, he saw his sister’s final text.

**_Amelia: Fine Grammar Police. -_-_ **

He couldn’t help but chuckle at his sister’s weird sense of humor. He noticed that they were nearing that convenience store he always frequents. He saw Sugawara and Kageyama standing right next to it. Daichi-san said he’d treat us to some pork buns, which made Lester thank him profusely. His hunger levels were rising again. Tanaka yelled at Sugawara from afar, telling him of the plans. As they approached, he overheard Sugawara saying something that basically made everything make sense.

“But you know, Kageyama. Aoba Josai is where all the guys from Kitagawa Daichi go to you know”

Kageyama nodded affirmatively, and Lester yelled all of a sudden: **_“I GET IT! Now it all makes sense”_** surprising everybody. Lester looked at their confused faces before saying: “I said that in English didn’t I?” and when he saw them nodding he apologized for surprising them. “I said that it all makes sense now.”

Before they could say anything, Lester motioned them to just forget about it. “I just thought that it might bother you” said Sugawara awkwardly.

Kageyama didn’t really look bothered in all honesty. “It would be kinda strange if I were on the same team as them, but now I’m going to play at full power!” he declared proudly, earning him a smile from Sugawara.

Tanaka came up, slightly annoyed: “But… I can’t accept this, Suga-san!”

Sugawara looked a bit sad, which was to be expected. “I’m a little mad too you know, but… I want Kageyama to show his former teammates that he’s nothing like he was in Junior High!” he said, as he patted Kageyama on the shoulders.

“That’s true” came the voice of their dear captain, who plopped a bag full of food in Hinata’s hand. He and Lester wasted no time to start eating. ”We also need to show them that they have others to worry about, right Hinata?”

Everybody stared in horror as the duo began munching on the pork buns. Tanaka and Kageyama each took a target and lifted them by the collar.

“WHY THE HELL ARE YOU EATING ALREADY!?”

“YOU IDIOTS!”

Suddenly, the store owner came outside, fury dominating his expression. “STOP MAKING SO MUCH NOISE, VOLLEYBALL CLUB!”

Lester couldn’t help the smile forming on his face. It was truly a nice feeling to be a part of something this awesome. He looked and Hinata, who looked back and smiled. They nodded, having the exact same thought about the team. The Telephone Pole and his lackey then came a few minutes later, with Tanaka yelling for them to hurry and get the awesome Pork Buns. Lester and Tsukishima naturally had their usual ‘Glare Off’. It was now a tradition that they’d throw in an insult or two before smirking at each other for a while, and the as always the air seemed to spark around them.  Daichi, Sugawara, and Kageyama decided to stay a bit longer, while the rest of the team went their separate ways. Lester walked by his lonesome, since nobody really lived next to Daisuke’s house.

Speaking of whom, he was actually home this time. But really, what was the point? He locked himself in his room, snoring his issues away. Lester face-palmed so hard, he reeled back a bit. The dude said he agreed to the program so he could get somebody to live with, but what good would come of that if he were either out all day or asleep all day?

Lester may never know…

* * *

**_The Next Day…_ **

* * *

Lester actually put some effort in class that day. He thought he might as well since there was a slight chance they might send him back if he ended up being an academic failure. Tsukishima looked bored and moody as always, while Yamaguchi simply paid attention in peace. His classes weren’t really hard, but they **_were_ ** in Japanese. While his Japanese was adequate for communication, writing in Japanese was a totally different thing altogether. He was sure that it was going to bite him in the ass at some point, the only question was when.

Today was going to be strange honestly. They were going to discuss the practice match against Aoba Josai. Lester was dreading that day with every fiber in his body. He just hoped he wouldn’t get picked to play, as his body was not made for consecutive physical labor. It might sound as though he’s exaggerating, but he really isn’t.  Sure there’s like a few more days till the match, but he still needed to rest longer.

But really, when do things ever go according to his wishes?

“Well then” began Daichi, holding a small white board, “This is going to be our formation during the match”

He lifted up the board to reveal a bunch of pins with names on them. As usual, Lester’s stood out like a sore thumb. The formation went something like this: There were three Wing-Spikers: Daichi, Tanaka, and Ennoshita. There was also Kageyama as the setter, thanks to the condition. And they were joined by Tsukishima and Hinata. Yamaguchi, Sugawara, Kinnoshita, Lester, and Narita’s Pins were on the right side of the court.

“Naturally, Kageyama has to be the setter, and he and Hinata will be a set, and since Tsukishima is one of our few tall players, I want to see how you’ll perform against them.” Explained Daichi.

Lester let out a sigh of relief, and looked over Yamaguchi, who was slightly sulking. He figured he wasn’t too happy that he wasn’t picked for the match. Lester put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, and whispered: “Don’t worry, Yamaguchi. We can be bench buddies or something!” then he flat out laughed. I guess he wasn’t really quiet enough, because Daichi heard him and set the record straight.

“Don’t get too comfortable, Lester. If the enemy proves to be too much of a hassle, I’m going to have to switch you and Ennoshita. After all, you’re the second tallest in the team.”

The disbelief couldn’t be any clearer on Lester’s face. He began sulking alongside Yamaguchi, but for the completely opposite reason. The position debate then began. The main issue was Hinata’s contradictory position as a Middle Blocker, despite his shortness. Takeda-sensei then gave a brief explanation of the three positions we have. Setter, Wing Spiker, and Middle Blocker. Kageyama explained that Hinata would be ‘The Ultimate Decoy’.

“Tall Blocker Idiots like Tsukishima would think that they would easily block Hinata’s attack, leaving them wide open for spikes from other Spikers.” Explained Kageyama.

Yamaguchi immediately went on the defensive, “Wait! Are you calling Tsukki an idiot?”

Lester’s head snapped right at him, not missing a chance to ridicule Tsukishima. “Oh no my dear Yamaguchi, he didn’t call him an Idiot. He was just stating a fact, that’s all.”

A few snickers and glares later…

Hinata blew a fuse… The pressure was too much for him to handle. It was comical to say the least.

Especially during the day before the match…

Lester was kinda running late to practice since he slept during English class. As he neared towards the club room, he could see Tsukishima and Yamaguchi in front of him. Tsukishima then bumped in Hinata, who was leaving the club room. Lester couldn’t help but feel that he was different than usual… a bit less cheerful.

“Oh I’m sorry! You were just so short that I didn’t see you!” snickered Tsukishima, while his lackey just giggled.

Lester honestly expected Hinata to retaliate, but he just gave him a dead look and walked away, muttering how he must not screw up. Then they heard Tanaka yell to Hinata that he was wearing his pants, which highly obvious, since Hinata’s pants were baggier than usual. Some passerby girl yelled at Tanaka for being a pervert, since he was pretty much in his underwear.

A single thought ran through Lester’s mind:

**_‘This so NOT gonna end well…’_ **


	7. Consequences of a Nervous Breakdown

Lester knew this day was cursed…

Before heading to the meeting place, he went to the local store and stocked up on snacks. He was nervous as heck, so he knew it would only be a matter of time before his Nervous-Eating habits kicked in. And the fact he barely got more than 3 hours of sleep seemed to enlarge the effect. He finally reached the school and was slightly relieved when he saw he wasn’t the only one who was nervous. To put it bluntly, one Hinata Shouyo looked like crap. He clearly didn’t get any sleep at all from all the pressure that was placed on him.

When they got in the bus, Lester went straight towards the back row. He figured he would at least get some peace and quiet along the ride, but that idea was thrown out the window when Tanaka and Hinata joined him. So he did the only thing he could and follow Tsukishima’s example and plug in his headphones and let the music soothe his mind.

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! GODDAMNIT HINATA!”

That didn’t last very long…

Hinata was so nervous he literally puked all over Tanaka’s pants. Lester had enough of that, and proceeded to face-palm and mumble about how absolutely fucked they were. He simply hoped this would sort itself out when they reached Aoba Josai, and began munching on his gummy bears for the duration of the ride. Tsukishima and Yamaguchi were chatting about who knows what, and Sugawara, Daichi, and Kageyama were discussing what Lester assumed to be strategies. Typical really…

* * *

When they finally reached it, Lester noticed just how different their schools were. However, Hinata’s whiny and apologetic voice snapped him out of his deep thought.

“I’m so sorry, Tanaka-san!” apologized Hinata, but Tanaka just shrugged it off and just dumped his puke-filled pants into a plastic bag.

Lester simply ignored them and went along with Sugawara to wherever the match was going to happen; most likely the gym. He noticed that the others followed Kageyama as he engaged in a staring contest with some hot- I mean spikey haired guy. He thought about excusing himself to join them, but in the end he decided he didn’t care enough to bother. Especially since Daichi pretty much beat the crap outta Tanaka, who was starting to threateningly glare at the guy, and they joined them afterwards.

As soon as they entered the gym, Lester felt a tiny bit of envy. This was one huge-ass gym that made theirs squirm in comparison. Lester ran his hand through his hair while sighing. Aoba Josai was one of the schools he could have applied to for his exchange program, but he decided not to in favor of Karasuno, and it didn’t help that he was only allowed to apply to one of them. He figured it wouldn’t really matter since they’d all just teach the same thing, and his host lived closer to Karasuno than Aoba Josai, so that was another bonus, so to speak. If he had known that the campuses were so different, he just might’ve chose to come here.

**_‘No use crying about it now I guess’_ **

Aoba Josai’s team was in the middle of warming up or training… or something. Their whole session looked so mechanical, like it was planned out to the last detail. Lester’s interest was interrupted by the unified greeting that they gave them, which they returned just as quickly. All he wanted to do right now was to lie down and go to sleep, but there was always that tiny chance that Ennoshita would be replaced, and Lester would be called in. So he went with Plan B, and began eating one of the energy bars he bought. Suddenly, inspiration hit him like a lightning bolt. He dragged Ennoshita to the side and decided to have a small chat with him. “So here’s the thing, I’m in no condition to play right now, so for the love of God, you better play as best as you possibly can, got it?” said, more like **_threatened_** , Lester.

Ennoshita could do nothing but slowly nod in slight worry…

Eventually, Hinata came back from who knows where he went, looking even crappier than before. Kinda like how one would imagine a drunk that just puked his guts out. Daichi tried to comfort him, to no avail. He then got the manager to do it, which made things even worse. Tanaka then just told him that they all have his back so there’s nothing to worry about. That seemed to lessen his nervousness, if only by a tiny bit. Lester simply gave him a gummy bear, hoping the sugar would calm him down. He seemed to calm down, but Lester couldn’t help but worry. All he could do now was hope Hinata wouldn’t screw this up to the point where Lester would be called in.

Oh, who was he kidding? The Universe is out for his blood it seems…

Both Teams stood on their respective sides of the field, and bowed to the other team. After settling in his bench, Lester simply watched as the match began with a major catastrophe. Hinata was EVERYWHERE, and not in the good sense. He’d jump in the way of someone when it was clearly not his time to receive the ball, much to the dismay of his teammates. As hilarious as it all was, the point gap between the teams was on the rise, and Aoba Josai reached 24 points while Karasuno treaded behind, due in no small part to Hinata. At this point, a single mistake would be fatal and may even cost them the set. Lester hoped the increased pressure might boost the team’s performance and they’d be able to bounce back, but that idea went out the window as soon as he saw whose turn it was to serve…

Hinata was already a giant mess, but when the increased pressure was added, he snapped. Lester didn’t have any more hope left in him, so he simply ate his last pack of gummy bears and prepared for the inevitable. And just as he suspected, Hinata blew the serve and it landed on the back of Kageyama’s head. Lester just let out a laugh in response. Tsukishima and Tanaka joined in and laughed at the clearly irritated Kageyama, who looked as though he’ll blow up any minute now. Sugawara, the only sane person on this team, tried to get them to shut up, which only made them laugh harder. One could almost see the rage filled aura around Kageyama as he walked towards a vacant Hinata.

It was pretty obvious that it took every fiber of his being not to beat the living crap outta Hinata, but Kageyama settled on reassuring him that after screwing up the serve, there shouldn’t be anything scarier. Hinata finally admitted what was really bothering him.

“I want to see this match through… I don’t want to be replaced by somebody and spend the rest of the match on the benches!”

Everyone, especially Tanaka, reassured him that no such thing would happen. That seemed to do the trick as Hinata cheered up instantly. Lester snorted at how different their views were. Hinata didn’t want to be benched, but Lester didn’t want anything to do with the match. Speaking of which, his fears were realized when Daichi ordered a player switch.

“UGH… I knew this was going to happen…” groaned Lester as he walked towards the field, but not before giving Hinata’s carrot head a venomous death glare. As far as he was concerned, Hinata’s the reason behind this.

As the second set began, Hinata seemed to focus slightly as Kageyama prepared to toss the ball to him. But that didn’t end well either, since Hinata was unable to spike the ball that was tossed higher than he was used to. Kageyama then yelled out to Hinata, and Lester was certain he was going to bitch him out and tell him to try harder, but what actually transpired genuinely surprised him.

“Sorry, that was my fault. I tossed it a bit too high.”

Well, that was unexpected. And it seemed as though the hot guy from before appeared to agree with Lester.

“Kageyama… Apologized?”

It seemed like only yesterday than Lester wanted to punch Kageyama for all his bitching, but he seems to have ‘grown’ in the past weeks.  It was actually quite impressive to say the least…

Hinata and Kageyama tried to perform their, as Tsukishima put it, “Weird Toss-and-Spike Combo”. Luckily, this time Kageyama tossed it perfectly, and Hinata was able to spike it just as well, completely shocking the opposing team. Lester couldn’t help but smirk fiendishly. With Hinata’s prior nervous breakdown gone, they were ready to bounce back. Just goes to show how much a person’s mental state affects their performance. As the members of Aoba Josai continued to be awed by the vast difference between sets, the gang was relentless in its counter-attack. Hinata’s job as a decoy was especially useful, as it pretty much allowed the others to spike freely. Everyone though Hinata was going to spike, but Kageyama actually tossed to Tsukishima, who spiked it surprisingly well. He stared at his hand for a while before facing Kageyama: “The accuracy of your tosses is starting to creep me out…” complained Tsukishima. Kageyama was about to retort, but Lester, as usual, didn’t miss his chance and beat him to it.

“Oh for the love of GOD, must you bitch and complain about EVERYTHING?”

The look Tsukishima gave him was totally worth it.

Eventually, they rotated so that their positions were the opposite of when the match started. Lester, Tsukishima, and Kageyama were in front, while Daichi, Hinata, and Tanaka were behind them. Lester had to admit that they looked intimidating. After all, the team’s tallest players were like a giant wall. Tsukishima began taunting Kageyama for no good reason, all while preparing for a massive jump as their opponents prepared to spike.

Unfortunately for them, the minute the three of them jumped, there was no chance that the spike would be successful. Lester could feel the looks of awe in everybody’s face and couldn’t help but feel slightly smug.

When they landed, Lester ran his hand through his blue-dyed hair and smugly said: “Oh come now, you did not honestly think it would be that easy?” which earned him a few glares from the other team.

A few more successful attacks later, Karasuno was able to win the set and earn the right to go for a final showdown.

“YEAH! Let’s try to win that last set so we can get the heck outta here…” declared Lester impatiently. Everyone else made similar declarations, all hoping to win the match. However, Kageyama still looked worried.

“Do not lower your guard just yet. That guy was not even their main Setter!”

Before anybody could comment, Lester heard a dreadful sound: The Screams of Nearby Fan-Girls…

“GAAAAAAH! OIKAWA-SAAAAAN!”

When he looked towards the source of the commotion, he saw a guy walking towards the opponent’s benches. Lester was not quite sure how to put it, but he could swear he could almost **_see_** the Aura of Douchebagery surrounding that guy, and he was certain he was not going to like him… Lester did his best to eavesdrop on their conversation.

“Hey, Oikawa, You’re finally back. How’s your ankle?” asked the coach, to which Oikawa responded that it was just a slight sprain. “Good, it wouldn’t do to have our main setter out. You were the one who insisted on playing against Kageyama”

Oikawa then turned towards them and said: “Yoo-hoo! Tobio-chan, how have you been? Still up to all that King of the court stuff?”

On their side of the field, Kageyama explained how he practically learned most of his techniques from watching Oikawa. “His power level is superior to everyone else on his team… and his personality is just horrible. Probably even worse than Tsukishima’s.”

Everyone stared at Oikawa with awe at what they just heard. For Kageyama to admit all that, he must be really good. Lester, as always, chose to focus on the less important part of what was just said. **“Oh Goodie, yet another guy on his period that I have to deal with.”**

At this point, his team members were used to his randomness, so they just stared at him for a while and then carried on. Oikawa was going to warm up, but not before waving to his Fan-Girls, causing them to screech even louder.

**_‘To think he could have been my upperclassman…’_ **

“ **Godforsaken Fan-Girls…** ” mumbled Lester before grudgingly getting ready to start the next set. It wasn’t as hard as the previous ones, and after a plethora of successful blocks and spikes, they reached 24 points; a single point away from victory.

But of course, THAT is when Oikawa decides to switch places, albeit as a Pinch-Server. Lester never fully understood that position since he was rarely in it, but from what he gathered, Pinch-Servers come in when their team is, as the name suggests, a pinch.

Oikawa let out a smug smirk, as if taunting to screw them over. “Powerful attacks are nothing if you cannot actually perform them!” he said as he prepared to serve, and Lester noticed his aim turning to Tsukishima. Before he could say anything, Oikawa served an ultra-powerful super serve that immediately showed them the difference in power. Tsukishima could barely register the ball that bounced off his arms. And boy, the sound of the impact made Lester shudder slightly.

**_‘Oh, we are so royally fucked…’_ **

“Just as I suspected” began Oikawa, “Number 6, Number 5, and you, Number 13. You’re not very good at receiving are you? Then you’re probably first years…”

Tsukishima, Hinata, and Lester glared respectively. Oikawa then proceeded to serve the same way until they were almost tied. Daichi then established a position where he could try to compensate for the lack of proper receivers, but Oikawa wasn’t impressed. “As expected from the receive expert, but it means nothing if they can’t back you up!” Oikawa said as he prepared to spike once more, but this time, he targeted the true weakest link; Lester. Having witnessed the moment Oikawa served towards Tsukishima, Lester decided to leave it to fate. They still had one more point until they tied; his inexperience could be forgiven. Oikawa clearly sacrificed some power in favor of accuracy, as his serve wasn’t as powerful as the others were. Lester debated between receiving the regular way or by improvising, but he was snapped out of his thoughts when he realized the ball was going to pass over him because he didn’t exactly stand near the edge. He turned around, hoped for the best, and began running towards where he hoped it would land. He extended his arm, hoping to toss the ball backwards. Time seemed to slow down as the ball somehow landed on his fingertips, and Lester, not wasting a single second, threw it backwards as hard as he could before falling to the ground. It wasn’t the ideal receive he would have wanted, but he extended the set for a while longer.

“Oho, maybe I went a little easy on him” said Oikawa as Lester began getting up. Despite his words, Lester didn’t miss the split-second of surprise on Oikawa’s face. But who could blame him, Lester himself was staring at his hand in awe. He also did not miss the looks on his own team’s face.

**_‘That was too fucking close…’_ **

Oikawa then bounced the ball to his teammate, who in turn tossed to the spikey haired guy. Lester was slightly worried since the two main blockers were at the back. However, he gasped as an unexpected chain of events transpired. Hinata, of all people, jumped as high as he could and was able to somehow deflect the spike. Kageyama, not missing a beat, prepared to toss to Hinata, who ran as fast as he could towards the other side. With a glare directed at Oikawa, Hinata performed his super spike and successfully earned them their final point. The whole gym was quiet for a split second, before comments on Hinata’s Badassery were made. Lester fell to the ground with a sigh of relief. This stupid match was finally over, and they somehow managed to win.

* * *

After receiving an encouraging, and kind of poetic, speech from Takeda-sensei, Lester and his teammates began preparing to leave. Lester felt the urge to wash up, but stopped on the way when he felt intrigued by Kageyama and the now known Kindaichi. It was painfully obvious that Kindaichi was not too fond of Kageyama, if the glares were anything to go by. The usual crap about Kageyama being oppressive and what not. Honestly, to Lester this was all just meaningless gossip. And that was exactly the kind of gossip he thrived upon. Kageyama was about to say something, but the three of them turned their attention to the annoying voice that emerged from behind.

“Toilets, Toilets, Toilets! I’m the guy who’s gonna be the next Ace!” sang Hinata, before noticing both Lester and the immensely tense atmosphere between Kageyama and Kindaichi. He quickly ducked behind the wall alongside the eavesdropping Lester. Kageyama finished up with Kindaichi and came back to bitch like at Hinata like he always does. It was entertaining at least.

As they were heading out, the teams thanked each other and went their separate ways. Daichi began a lecture out of nowhere. “While Takeda-sensei did compliment us, we honestly wouldn’t fare as well if we faced Oikawa from the start” said Daichi reluctantly.

And speak of the devil, Oikawa was standing near the gates, as though waiting for them. “Spoken like a true captain” began Oikawa, but started laughing when Tanaka and Hinata began taunting him. “No need for such hostility. You, short-stuff. That one-touch and broad attack you pulled off was amazing!” praised Oikawa, which made Hinata slightly gleeful. “Let us all give it our best next time, right from the start too. After all, you guys have yet to see our set-up” said Oikawa before facing Lester and Tsukishima, “and we’ll definitely work on our serves as well.”

Lester immediately realized what Oikawa was implying. Those Ultra-Powerful Super Serves would be played right from the beginning of the match. He then said how good attacks are worthless if their receiving was horrible. He reminded them that the Inter-High school Preliminaries were coming up next, and that they should try not to get eliminated. “After all, I want to completely destroy my dear underclassman in a setter-on-setter official match!”

While Lester was busy glaring a hole in Oikawa’s head, Hinata grabbed Tsukishima’s arm and yelled: “Then us receivers will get better!”

Oikawa, completely unfazed, taunted how receivers don’t just improve overnight. He was about to leave before catching a glimpse of Lester, and remembering something. “Ah yes, that reminds me. You with the blue hair, how did you manage that little stunt of yours?” asked Oikawa. Lester simply stared at him for a while, before smiling innocently.

“I knew by the look of surprise on your face that you noticed it…” was Lester’s simple response.

Oikawa looked at him before smirking, “Honestly, your inexperience is evident from a mile away. Although the serve itself was not as strong as it could be, it was very unlikely that you could have stopped it at all. And yet, as we all saw, you somehow managed to bounce it back. That certainly piques my curiosity!”

His teammates must have thought the same thing, as they were looking at him expectantly, awaiting his response. Lester just smiled and said: “No clue!” earning him baffled looks from everyone else. “I really do not know. Like you said, under normal circumstances, my limited volleyball skills shouldn’t have allowed me to pull it off. But I guess that just means there’s nothing normal about me.” Lester said sheepishly, before donning a serious expression. “Since you were so gracious to give us some advice, allow me to return the favor, **_Oikawa-san_**. You should be careful, since even the greatest of players can be easily knocked off their high horse” said Lester, which was greeted by a smirk from Oikawa, and a challenging look.

**_‘Something tells me I’m gonna regret saying that’_ **

He let out a sigh, before finishing off the cookie that magically made its way to his hands. He was glad nobody decided to pry any further, and moved on with their conversation. “While it’s true that the Inter-High school Prelims are near, **_he_** should be back soon” said Daichi with a broad smirk mirrored by Tanaka. Upon inquiring who he was talking about, Daichi simply said one thing that surprised Lester.

“Karasuno’s Guardian Deity.”

* * *

For a reason that still escapes his mind, Lester and the team began cleaning up their own gym before going home. Daichi was talking to Takeda-sensei as they discussed the team’s build up. As the cleaning process continued, Yamaguchi stumbled upon a broken mop hidden deep within the storage room. When it was suggested that it should be thrown away, Sugawara quickly said not to worry about it. Lester wondered whether it had some sentimental value to them, but he was too exhausted to care any further.

They stopped by the small shop on the way back for some dumplings, but sadly they were all out.  Since they never seemed to have anything else on their minds, they began discussing the match. The topic then somehow turned to why Kageyama did not enroll at the top high school, the reason being that he flunked the entrance exams. Naturally, Tsukishima just had to say something.

“Oh my, The Great King sucks at his studies” said Tsukishima as he passed the group on his way home.

When the conversation switched towards the Guardian Deity, Lester immediately paid attention. “If he’s really this good, then where is he?” asked Kageyama innocently.

Reluctantly, Tanaka-san replied: “Well, he was suspended for a week from school, and a month from club activities…” Hinata’s first question was whether he was a delinquent or not. “Nothing like that, he just tends to get a little fired up is all.”

Lester then parted ways with the group, and a single memory came to his mind that made him slightly worried…

* * *

**_It was a few days after they got their jackets. Lester usually likes to have his lunch on the roof, away from everyone else. Getting there was always an adventure, since he was always met by surprised looks from his upperclassmen that don’t usually see him as often. But on that particular day, something different happened. He was making his way towards the stairs when suddenly, he felt somebody ram into him. The person was sort of small, so he barely felt the impact. The person, however, clearly did as he wobbled back and nearly fell, but Lester managed to grab him in time._ **

**_“Sorry about that, I didn’t see you there” apologized Lester, mainly out of respect. The guy that rammed into him was really short, possible shorter than Hinata. He had the front of his hair dyed blonde, kinda like how Lester has some electric blue strands as well._ **

**_As soon as the guy noticed Lester, he began yelling his thoughts. “WOW! YOU’RE like REALLY TALL!” said Short-Stuff. Before Lester could any anything, he began yelling again. “WAIT! Is that the volleyball club’s jacket? DID YOU JOIN?! THAT’S AMAZING! You’re super tall, so that’s gotta be helpful!”_ **

**_The guy just wouldn’t stop talking, and Lester was sincerely considering just walking away. Luckily, he didn’t have to since Short-Stuff Realized he was late to something and began running up the stairs. “I’LL SEE YOU LATER, GIANT-SAN!”  Lester had to take a few minutes to process what the fuck just happened, and when he did, he just walked back to his class, not really in the mood to go to the roof anymore._ **

**_It was that day that Lester met Nishinoya Yuu, Karasuno’s Guardian Deity…_ **

* * *

He sincerely hoped that was not the person Daichi was talking about, for he could only handle one loud short-stuff at a time…


End file.
